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Madeira Wine
We served a bit of Sandeman 'Fine Rich Madeira' as a pleasant desert wine after dinner last evening. I got curious and decided to do some research on the topic of Madeira Wine, which has a long and interesting history.
http://www.sandeman.eu/
http://eng.sograpevinhos.eu/marcas/S...ine%20Rich.pdf
- From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira_wine
The islands of Madeira have a long winemaking history, dating back to the Age of Exploration when Madeira was a standard port of call for ships heading to the New World or East Indies. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added. On the long sea voyages, the wines would be exposed to excessive heat and movement which transformed the flavour of the wine. This was discovered by the wine producers of Madeira found out when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine up to temperatures as high as 60 °C (140 °F) for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Because of this unique process, Madeira is a very robust wine that can be quite long lived even after being opened.[1]
Early American history (17th – 18th centuries)
Madeira was an important wine in the history of the United States of America. No wine-quality grapes could be grown among the 13 colonies, so imports were needed, with a great focus on Madeira.[3][4] One of the major events on the road to revolution in which Madeira played a key role was the British seizure of John Hancock’s sloop the Liberty on May 9, 1768. Hancock's boat was seized after he had unloaded a cargo of 25 pipes (3,150 gallons) of Madeira, and a dispute arose over import duties. The seizure of the Liberty caused riots to erupt among the people of Boston.[5][6]
Madeira was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, and it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence.[3] George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams are also said to have appreciated the qualities of Madeira. On one occasion, Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the great quantities of Madeira he consumed while a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. A bottle of Madeira was used by visiting Captain James Server to christen the USS Constitution in 1797. Chief Justice John Marshall was also known to appreciate Madeira, as well as his cohorts on the early U.S. Supreme Court.
Video: Flanders & Swann - 'Have Some Madeira M'Dear'
http://youtu.be/OW_zi8n4HDQ
We served a bit of Sandeman 'Fine Rich Madeira' as a pleasant desert wine after dinner last evening. I got curious and decided to do some research on the topic of Madeira Wine, which has a long and interesting history.
http://www.sandeman.eu/
http://eng.sograpevinhos.eu/marcas/S...ine%20Rich.pdf
- From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira_wine
The islands of Madeira have a long winemaking history, dating back to the Age of Exploration when Madeira was a standard port of call for ships heading to the New World or East Indies. To prevent the wine from spoiling, neutral grape spirits were added. On the long sea voyages, the wines would be exposed to excessive heat and movement which transformed the flavour of the wine. This was discovered by the wine producers of Madeira found out when an unsold shipment of wine returned to the islands after a round trip. Today, Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine up to temperatures as high as 60 °C (140 °F) for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Because of this unique process, Madeira is a very robust wine that can be quite long lived even after being opened.[1]
Early American history (17th – 18th centuries)
Madeira was an important wine in the history of the United States of America. No wine-quality grapes could be grown among the 13 colonies, so imports were needed, with a great focus on Madeira.[3][4] One of the major events on the road to revolution in which Madeira played a key role was the British seizure of John Hancock’s sloop the Liberty on May 9, 1768. Hancock's boat was seized after he had unloaded a cargo of 25 pipes (3,150 gallons) of Madeira, and a dispute arose over import duties. The seizure of the Liberty caused riots to erupt among the people of Boston.[5][6]
Madeira was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, and it was used to toast the Declaration of Independence.[3] George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams are also said to have appreciated the qualities of Madeira. On one occasion, Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the great quantities of Madeira he consumed while a Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress. A bottle of Madeira was used by visiting Captain James Server to christen the USS Constitution in 1797. Chief Justice John Marshall was also known to appreciate Madeira, as well as his cohorts on the early U.S. Supreme Court.
Video: Flanders & Swann - 'Have Some Madeira M'Dear'
http://youtu.be/OW_zi8n4HDQ