Madeira is a fortified wine that is cooked, or gradually heated.
This makes it practically indestructible. Once opened, a bottle
of Madeira can last in your cupboard like a bottle of spirit.
The fortified wine of our ancestors was made by accident. In the
1600's, shipping still wine from the region of Madeira to the
tropics was no easy feat. Most wine cases were spoiled by heat
and oxidation, many to the point that producers began adding a
bit of neutral grape spirit to the wines before shipping in
order to prevent that spoilage. By the end of the sea voyage,
the fortified wine had naturally been heated and turned out to
taste even better post-ship ride than before. Voila – a new type
of wine discovered. These days, most winemakers heat Madeira
wine in tanks or casks using the estufagem process. Others are
determined to heat the wines naturally with sunlight. The
sweetness levels of Madeira are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and
Malmsey - Sercial being driest, Malmsey the sweetest. These
levels used to be based on t