Wines from Madeira

Madeira, which lies about 500 miles from Portugal, has been making high quality wines and growing grapes since the 1500s, barely 150 years after the island was discovered in 1419. However, it wasn’t until the mid 17^th century that wine production on the Island took off, when the island became a major port on the Portugal to India shipping route. The most popular grape on the island is Tinta Negra Mole, which makes the popular ‘Madeira Wine’. Often fortified, it is sweet and full bodied with a rounded flavour and the occasional spicy note.