WINE REGIONS
Madeira
DOCS
- 01 Madeira
- 02 Madeirense
Description of Madeira's Region
The vines grow aligned on small raised terraces in an extremely mountainous region with steep slopes and deep valleys. Situated in the North Atlantic, at the same latitude as Casablanca, the island of Madeira enjoys a temperate, distinctly Atlantic climate, with mild temperatures year-round.
The soils are of volcanic origin, fertile, very rich in organic matter and acidic, which, combined with the humid climate, the traditional system of training the vines in pergolas, with the consequent difficulty in the physiological maturation of the grapes and very high yields, compromise the maturation of the grapes, providing wines with very high acidity levels, a characteristic feature of all Madeira wines.
The four noble grape varieties are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malvasia, all white, vinified in order to provide different degrees of sweetness, marketed in a respectively dry, medium dry, semi-sweet and sweet style.
However, the most planted grape variety on the island, accounting for more than 80% of the total harvest, is Tinta Negra, an easily adaptable red grape variety, capable of adapting to all four styles of sweetness. Other wines are also produced in Madeira.
