TNWG Wine Times: Ep 48: Wines of Madeira
- aplofthouse
- Aug 11
- 7 min read
ANNOUNCEMENTS/EVENTS
💥 The Wine and Cheese Network is back in SEPT 💥
That's right folks, after the summer pause, we are back with a bang in September and what better way to start than to have Wake Smith Solicitors as our keynote speaker and Paces as our charity that we are all sponsoring via 10% of your ticket price for the month of September.
To grab your ticket, please head to the website via this link to make sure you book your place, as we head back into 'full steam ahead' mode for the month of September:
Look out for further announcements, but I can confirm we will be doing further Drinks Events in October both with Balliante and also for the public at places like Over The Yard Arm.
👉 PRIVATE CELLAR BUILDS, PRIVATE SOMMELIER and IN-HOUSE DRINKS EVENTS👈
We offer a great range of additional services at The Northern Wine Guy including building wine cellars for private clients - that can be as little as 12 bottles upwards (the more the merrier!).
We can provide private sommelier services at your offices or at your private residence for large parties, gatherings or entertaining clients.
In-house staff engagements, meetings or socials. If you have a client you want to impress, then why not consider a Wine and Cheese Event? Or maybe you would like a Whisky and Cigar session? Rums? Sakes? You name it, we can look at creating it for you.
Just drop me a DM, connect with me here on LinkedIn or go to my website (www.thenorthernwineguy.co.uk) and create an enquiry.
🎄🎄CHRISTMAS - THE 'C' WORD 🎄🎄
I know, I know. It is August...BUT here is the thing...venues and events are being booked up and if you haven't thought about your Christmas Party yet, then you really need to get a move on!!
For Christmas - here are some thoughts from me:
Make sure you have your drinks ready for Christmas - don't leave it till the last minute and hit those big queues. Give The Northern Wine Guy a shout and we can discuss your requirements and get it to you with plenty of time before the main event.
Staff Christmas parties? If you have them, then let's get a venue sorted and a Wine & Cheese or Wine paired meal setup.
In-house event? No problem, bring the drinks expert to you - we can do this too!
🌍 FOCUS: WINES OF MADEIRA 🌍
This week, we are focusing on the wines off the coast of Morocco (400 miles in fact only) and 480 miles southwest of Lisbon, that of the 'Enchanted Isles'. Madeira is the largest of these archipelagos and one of the prettiest islands in the world. (If you want to look to visit, give me a shout The Northern Travel Guy ).
The island is extremely fertile given the weather fronts and the altitude which reaches upto 6,000 feet at it's peak, so terraces of vines, sugar cane etc are housed along the sides.
Wine has been a central piece to Madeira history for centuries, in fact it was already being exported back in the mid-15th century! 🤯
It was of course the famed sweet wine which made it to European shores given the large amount of concentrated sunlight hours that the island receives. The key to wine production in Madeira is the 'warming' of the wine. It is called the process of 'Estufagem' - which is where the wine is heated to nearly 50 degrees celsius for at least 3 months. This is the 'cheaper' versioned wines that often end up as great versions of cooking Madeira wine.
The longer process of 'Canteiro' is a much gentler process, the process of storing the wines in barrel in the island's ambient temperatures.
TNWG Tip - If you are looking for the very best Madeira wines, then look for the word 'Frasqueira' on the bottle - it means VINTAGE. These madeira's must have come from a single vintage, a single grape varietal and aged in cask for at least 20 years! Some of the finest in fact can be ageing for literally centuries.
TNWG Tip - Madeira is the best wine for being fine left in the cupboard for long periods. It can survive for years - so don't think you have to drink it all in one sitting!
You can find slightly cheaper versions, called 'Colheita madeiras' which have had at least 5 years in wood and produced in a single vintage.
TNWG Tip - Post EU membership, Madeira can label a varietal on the label if at least 85% of the wine comes from that varietal. However, what you will find is most Madeira's are labelled with their brand, so for example 'Blandy's Duke of Clarence' or according to their average age of the blend. Bottling is forbidden before the end of October in the second year of harvest - so do check out the bottle labels before you purchase them.
Grape Varietals Used in the production of Madeira:
🍇 SERCIAL - white grape varietal, grown at the coolest sites on the island at upto 1,000 metres on the south side.
🍇VERDELHO - white grape varietal, grown esp on the north side of the island. Produces medium dry and medium sweet wines, somewhat caramel-esque tint to them.
🍇 BOAL - white grape varietal, found mostly on the south coast. It reaches higher sugar levels than both above. Darker, more raisin esque and darker caramel vibes.
🍇 MALVASIA - white grape varietal, warmer locations in the south. Produces a richly sweet wine.
🍇 TINTA NEGRA - red grape varietal, this is actually planted probably the most widely of all, but tends to not live upto long life Madeiras. Although still can produce versions.
The first 4 are very much seen as the 'noble varietals' for making Madeira wine that is of very high standards.
Have you tried these grape varietals?
If you want to find out more about the island of Madeira in terms of how to get there (direct flights from the UK) and best places to stay, plus best places to visit - then follow The Northern Travel Guy or get in touch directly.
🗞️ LATEST DRINKS INDUSTRY ARTICLES 🗞️
In case you missed it, I was in print this week - with my thoughts on Bordeaux and the future of wineries as well as the En Primeur process. Take a read!
📈 MARKETS IN BRIEF 📉
On the week (as at 8th August 11:45am) changes:
EQUITIES: ⬆️ FTSE 100 up 0.3%; ⬆️ DAX up 2.4%; ⬆️ S&P 500 up 0.9%; ⬆️ Nikkei 225 up 2.5%; ⬇️ Dow Jones down 0.4% (yet to open today).
COMMODITIES: ⬇️ Brent Oil down 5.8% ; ⬇️ Crude Oil down 6.3% ; ⬆️ Gold up 3.7%; ⬆️ Silver up 5%; ⬆️ Copper up 0.3%
BONDS (in yield terms): ⬇️ UK 2yrs lower 0.01%; ⬇️ UK 10yrs lower 0.053%; ⬇️ German 10yrs lower 0.0781%, ⬇️ US 2yrs higher 0.211%; ⬇️ US 10yrs lower 0.138%.
Well the picture we painted some time ago now (see earlier editions) is coming somewhat to fruition. More rate cuts from global economies is set to continue. The Bank of England took the decision to cut once more this week, only underlining the state of the global economy. This is set to continue and I continue to see rates get cut further in the coming quarters (expecting once a quarter - in line with current market expectations).
In the US, the growth rate is likely set to continue at a level below 1.5% over the next 12 months or so which doesn't paint a great picture, most due to the immigration collapse and consumer debt - although you could just because of the 'Trump effect', which is a half truth. The markets are currently pricing around 2.4 cuts this year and a further 3 cuts next year - I personally think that is a little overdone for 2026, but the market has become quite short termist in the views, thanks to the headline fragility that we see in global markets.
The impact of a global slowdown is far from ideal. We are not strategically placed for any long term pain here and with interest rates dropping, so are your saving rates to the consumer too. Anybody already have emails from your banks saying they are reducing rates in line with the benchmark rate being cut? I have.
It was well telegraphed and so banks were almost ready to automate those emails to consumers this week. Is there any benefit? Yes, if you are on a variable mortgage then super, relock in lower rates and get yourselves paying less per month if you can. Although I would say, don't worry if you missed this 0.25% change, there are more to follow and therefore better rates will come for you. In terms of savings, hmm, not ideal, you are gaining less interest and we need to be conscious of the inflation rate too in the UK, which offsets your income interest gained.
Equities not surprisingly have had a little bit of an impetus on the back of the rate decision in the UK so we continue to hold our plays for now. I am still relatively bullish US equities in the near term, so happy to be overweight there versus the rest of my portfolio.
Investing in wine - well there could be some light at the end of the tunnel here. For those who have caught up with all the things that President Trump has announced, they will know that he signed a court order allowing 'alternative assets' to be allowed within the 401K's - this could see a huge influx into the fine wine market, IF fine wine is considered part of the alterative asset list. Let's see.....
That's all from me this week, I hope you enjoyed it!
Best Regards,
Andy a.k.a. The Northern Wine Guy 🍷
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