900km from Lisbon and 700km from the African coast, Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal with a winemaking culture that stems back as far as the 15th century.
Most known for its fortified wines – and houses like Blandy’s, Pereira D’Oliveira and Barbeito – the lush green island has garnered a reputation for its traditional sips.
As Demetri Walters MW, leading a masterclass on the island, put it: “When you think of Madeira, you probably think of livery companies in the city, traditional merchants, very smart old-fashioned dining rooms.”
Yet things are starting to shift for the small island, which rests in the Atlantic Ocean. With a mission to reinvent itself for a new set of consumers, Madeira has turned to one of the fastest-growing areas of consumption in the UK: cocktail culture.
A far cry from the classic Madeira serve – sipped in front of a fireplace, swirled thoughtfully in a tulip glass – cocktails are a way for the wine to be drunk differently.
With each grape from the region offering a different flavour profile – Malvasia, with honey and spice notes; Verdelho, which Walters compared to marmalade; and Sercial, associated with a citrus lime flavour – the wines lend themselves to a range of cocktails.
Served at the Madeira Wine Experience last week as part of the wider tasting, the Barbeito Rainwater Madeira, for example, was combined with grapefruit soda and lime to create a twist on the Paloma.
Meanwhile, Justino’s five-year-old Medium Dry Reserve was served as a ‘Madeirarita’, and H.M. Borges’ three-year-old Medium Dry was combined with coconut and fig leaf soda to create a Fig Highball.
The reason for the shift into new formats is multiple. As Walters noted, the UK is reducing its alcohol content, and cocktails allow Madeira to take part in the low & no trend, offering a lower ABV serve than drinks made with most spirits.
“It’s quite hard for you to get your head around Madeira being lower alcohol,” the MW added. But comparatively, they are.
Additionally, expanding the ways Madeira is consumed allows more opportunities for mid-level producers, Walters said, something important as many classic drinkers of the fortified wine choose premiumisation.
On this: “The world is departing from junior blends and spending more on middle and top ones. This is unfortunate for [mid-level] producers. As more people turn to the top end of production over the next 10, 15 and 20 years, they [the mid-level producers] need all the innovation they can,” Walters said, including cocktails.
An interesting turn for the small island, which makes almost 10% of its total revenue through sales to the UK, it’s compelling to see the region considering drinking trends and adapting to them.
As Walters said, there’s no reason the wine must be relegated to one way of drinking. Turning back to the traditional sellers and old-school clientele, he added: “Madeira doesn’t have to be like that. Madeira can be whatever you want.”
