Travel with Angela Lansbury: Drink like George Washington: US Museum; Madeira Wine Tasting In England; and Visiting D'Oliveiras Winery and the Wine Museum In Madeira

Madeira wine was George Washington's favourite tipple, Jefferson's too, and Madeira from earlier eras was recently discovered in the USA. You can see displays in the Liberty Hall museum and read about them. What if you want to try and buy Madeira today, in England or in Madeira itself?

Madeira wine, which was offered at a free tasting at Eton Vintners wine shop in Eton, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Look in a large supermarket or shop for Madeira wine. I went to a tasting at Eton Vintners and tried several, going back five years, then ten or more years.

As the clear, easy to understand label says, matured in oak casks. From the wine maker D'Oliverias. D means of. Winho means wine, in Portuguese. This bottle contains sweet wine.

You also learn a few words of Portuguese, a free lesson. Produto is product and de is of. So similar to French. If you already know some French, Spanish or Latin, Portuguese sounds familiar.

From the name of the country you can learn that EI is prounced EE-er. Likewise Oliveiras - you can work it out. I keep mis-spelling it like the English name Oliver, then remember the word Madeira and correct it.

You may recognize a catchphrase from a humorous Flanders and Swan song, 'Have some Madeira m'dear'.

That reminds me of sherry parties when I first went up to university. Madeira is a strong drink, best drunk, in my view, at the end of a meal with something sweet.

To understand Madeira, it helps to know its history. Madeira is an island in Mid Atlantic, a stopover in the old days before air travel for ships from the UK and Europe to the USA and on the way back.
According to UK importers and distributors Boveywines.co.uk, wines were sent East to Australia, a six-month voyage.

The country of Madeira has a balmy, springtime climate all year and grows grapes which can be turned into wine. The long journey of wines in barrels or bottles in heat probably evaporated some of the contents and did not ruin them but enhanced the flavour. Wine unsold at the other end got a double dose on the return journey.

Economics
If you are a winemaker and want to preserve wine, you can add some stronger alcohol, fortified wine, strengthened wine. It is cheap to make the wine used to fortify. The base wine has to be chosen and nurtured to provide the taste and aroma. But for fortifying, any cheap wine will do. So you are adding cheap wine, but increasing the price to the customer. Preserving and saving the unsold good wine for later. Using up the cheap wine you can't sell as fortifying wine. Good business. One might also think a good use of resources.

Necessity and Invention
At first, the change to the wine happened accidentally, wine fortified to preserve it, heated on a long voyage with unsold wine returned. Then it was done deliberately, sending fortified wine out and back on ship to improve it. Then, to save time, the wine was given the heat treatment, just being stored upstairs in attics (heat rises) in the heat without being sent off on a ship. Finally, the process was accelerated by boiling up or at least heating up the wine. The result is that Madeira can last for years and still be drinkable.

London, England, the UK, has always been a prime market for Portuguese wines, Port and Madeira, more recently Mateus Rose. Shippers, importers, exporters, drinkers, liked the Portuguese products.

The fashion for poor people, young workers, to drink beer, and rich retired people to drink soporific stronger alcohol seems to have changed with an increase towards drinking wine.

Despite the trend towards wine and away from stronger drinks, sellers are keen to sell all kinds of drinks, and I have been told that the profits on wine are low, the profit on spirits is high, and some businesses are kept afloat with the sales of the spirits subsidising the sales of the wines.

It seems to me the reverse of the loss leader idea, which is when a supermarket offers one free or cheap product attracting customers, who then spend on other goods. It's more like the hotels which make their profits on the suites and penthouses in high season, whilst offering lower priced rooms on lower floors and off-seasons to make the place look lively and busy and keep the staff employed all year.

How does this affect you and me and Madeira wines?

Madeira wine in the glass, offered at the free tasting at Eton Vintners wine shop in Eton. See the dark colour.

We tried five and ten-year-old wines, using the same glass. At first, I used one glass, sipped a little, spat and tipped the leftover in the spitoon. Then I rinsed the glass with water and rinsed my mouth. However, when I went to take a photo I realised I needed two glasses to compare the colours of the drink. If you kept two glasses, and saved the leftover of one wine to compare, you could see the change in colour. Like everything else, drink and food, stains on clothes, dyeing clothes, leave food or drink out for hours or wine for years in tanks and bottles and evaporation takes place, a stronger colour develops.

Various spirits on sale in the spirits section of the wine shop.

In the UK
Look out for Madeira wine tastings. They are most frequent in the months leading up to Christmas. I have been to free tastes of assorted wines including Madeira at Berry Brothers in central London near The Ritz hotel and Piccadilly tube station, and more recently at Eton Vintners wine shop in the twin town of Eton and Windsor linked by a bridge across the river underneath Windsor Castle.

If you want to taste a Madeira in Madeira, you can go to the D'Oliveria (Vinhos) premises in Funchal, the capital and major city of the island of Madeira. In the Portuguese address you will notice, Ilha (island) da (of) Madeira.

Translations:
Portuguese - English
casa - house
do - of
horas - hours
e - and
ilha - island
museu - museum
rua - street
vinho - wine
vinhos - wines

English - Portuguese
and - e
hours - horas
house - casa
island - ilha
museum - museu
street - rua
wine - vine
wines - vinhos

Pereira D'Oliveira (Vinhos) LTD,
Rua dos Ferreiros, 107
9000-082 FUNCHAL
ILHA DA MADEIRA.

tel: 351-291 220784.
email:perolivinhos@hotmail.com

Opening Hours: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Saturday mornings from 9.30 am to 1 pm.
You could plan to go in the morning, and find a restaurant for lunch, or in the afternoon, and find a restaurant for dinner.

They are just around the corner from the Wine Museum. I would prefer to do the museum before the wine tasting, but that's up to you and depends on the timing of your trip.

Wine Museum
Rua de 5 de Outubro
Funchal
Ilha da Madeira.

Blandy's Wine Lodge http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/explore/detalhe/madeira-wine-museum
Entry free.