Portugal’s other great fortified wine, Madeira is making a comeback after a long period of decline. The product of the 
verdant, steeply-terraced island 600 km off the coast of Morocco, early merchants took advantage of Madeira’s location on major trade routes and shipped the wine to the Americas and beyond. 
The heat of the sun and motion of the ship on long sea voyages gave Madeira wine a special tangy, burnt caramel character that drinkers loved. The addition of grape brandy arrived later to preserve wine held in storage while France and England were at war in America.
With Madeira more popular than Port in England, producers devised an alternative method of “baking” the wine. They found that heating the wine in estafas, huge ovens controlled by hot water pipes at up to 50ᵒC for 90 days, had the same effect as a long sea journey. After powdery mildew and phylloxera ravaged the vineyards in the 19th century, more prolific grape varieties began replacing traditional, lower-yielding vines. As quality declined, cheap, young Madeira acquired a reputation as a wine used as much for cooking as drinking. Portugal’s 1986 membership in the EU became the springboard for Madeira’s renewal. It increased standards for wine grape growing, winemaking and labeling, while providing investment funds in a world of expanding markets. At Blandy’s 17th century Wine Lodges in Funchal, the finest wines are aged in large casks, which are placed in “canteiros”, or lofts, on upper floors where the temperature is highest.
On the north of the island, the company owns Quinta do Bispo, a 5 ha vineyard growing Sercial, Verdelho and Malvasia vines high on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean 
REVIEWS
Showcasing spirited fortified wines from the B.C. and around the globe, the five star rating system stresses value for price.
BLANDY’S 5 YEAR OLD VERDELHO MEDIUM DRY MADEIRA
Funchal, Portugal
****1/2 $29.99
From a grape variety that makes medium-bodied Madeira between drier Sercial and sweeter Bual. A caramel-hued sensory delight, it exhibits notes of raisin, caramel, orange peel, smoky oak and walnut. Chilled with soups or, after dinner, with nuts, dried fruit.
BLANDY’S DUKE OF CLARENCE RICH MADEIRA
Funchal, Portugal
**** $28.99
The perfect introductory Madeira, Duke of Clarence is made from Tinta Negra Mole, the most widely planted grape in Madeira. Amber brown in colour, it features raisin, fig, brown sugar, cinnamon, toffee and walnut. Try with pecan pie or chocolate pudding.
Excellent fortified wines are made as specialty products by several wineries in B.C. and the Okanagan Valley. Closer to Port than Madeira or Sherry in style, they are made by using homegrown grapes or fruits, and adding brandy or neutral spirits to stop fermentation.
RECLINE RIDGE 2011 RIDGEPORT
Tappen, British Columbia
****1/2 $23.90
A rendering of Maréchal Foch aged in French oak, Graydon Ratzlaff fortifies with a finished brandy for finesse. Nuances of fig, prune, dried cherry, dark chocolate, walnut and cigar box warm the cockles. Partners plum pudding, festive fruit and nut cake.
THE VIEW STILETTO FORTIFIED FRUIT WINE
Kelowna, British Columbia
**** $19.90
Made from exotic Rainier cherries from the Okanagan Valley, Tawny in the glass, Stiletto shows delicacy and complexity. Elegant flavours of cherry, fig, butterscotch, almond and chocolate with tartness balancing richness. Calls for finest dark chocolate.
MAVERICK 2012 SOFIA
Oliver, British Columbia
**** $30
Vintage Port is the model for Sofia, made by stomping Syrah grapes and fortifying with a spirit made from Maverick grapes. Richly extracted powerhouse offers raisiny, dark berry and plum fruits, licorice and almond with peppery tannins. Decant and serve with Stilton.
