Often asked: How Do You Serve Madeira Wine?

What do you drink Madeira wine with?

Most people think of Madeira as an after dinner wine, but its diverse styles and high acidity make it a a great partner with food. The greatest pairing ever is peanut butter cups and a glass of 1912 Verdelho Madeira ($475). Winter and fall soups, such as butternut squash, make an amazing compliment to Bual Madeira.

What do you eat with Madeira wine?

You can pair Malmsey with rich chocolate desserts, ice cream, and cheese, or just sit with a glass by the fireside. Malmsey is dessert in and of itself. It’s common for Malmsey to show the most fruity, roasted nut, and chocolate notes of Madeira’s styles.

Do you refrigerate Madeira wine after opening?

Once opened, Madeira wine can last for many months if stored in the correct conditions. When it comes to enjoying Madeira, we suggest that the dry and medium dry styles be served chilled (12°C) and the medium rich and rich styles be served slightly chilled (16°C).

Do you need to decant Madeira?

Decanting is not necessary. Vintage Madeira should be decanted. A general rule is to open the wine one day for every 10 years that the wine has been in bottle. Use a good cork screw, or if the cork seems fragile use a ‘butlers thief’ to ease the cork out of the bottle.

Is Madeira wine expensive?

For all its relative obscurity, Madeira is dominating the list of most expensive wines – mostly because of its incredible ability to age. As we’ve seen from the first few wines on the list, age gets attention, and this wine – the most recent vintage of which is 1846 – has an average price on Wine-Searcher of $5516.

Is Madeira wine sweet or dry?

Madeira is a fortified wine that hails from the island of Madeira in Portugal, about 300 miles off the coast of Morocco. Ranging from sweet to dry, it’s primarily made with a handful of grape varieties, including Tinta Negra Mole, Sercial, Verdelho, Bual (also known as Boal), and Malvasia (aka Malmsey).

Is Madeira good with cheese?

It is fantastic with dry fruit cakes and fruit tarts, butter biscuits, dark or milk chocolate, pralines and petit-fours. It is equally elegant with most cheeses but especially with blues such as Danish Blue, Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola.

How long does Madeira wine last unopened?

The shelf life of unopened Madeira is indefinite but if Madeira develops an off odor, flavor or appearance, it should be discarded for quality purposes.

What cheese goes with Madeira?

With a slight flavor of toasted nuts, Madeira pairs well with cheeses that also have a nutty character, such as Gruyère, Petite Basque, and Zamorano. Madeira pairs well with blue cheeses as well.

How do you store an opened Madeira wine bottle?

Bottles of Madeira wine should be stored in an upright position, the main reason for this is that the wine can ‘outlive’ the cork, as madeira wine can last for hundreds of years. Bottles should be kept out of direct sunlight in a location without great variations in temperature.

How long can we keep opened red wine?

Full-Bodied Wines After opening, these wines can be kept for 3-5 days as long as they are stored in a cool, dark place with a cork on. A general rule to remember when storing open bottles of red wine is that the sweeter the wine, the longer it will last.

How long can you store opened port wine?

A bottle of Port has the advantage over a regular wine of having a longer open bottle shelf life. Depending on the style it can be kept for 4 to 12 weeks once opened. The full-bodied Founders Reserve Ruby Port may fade after 4 or 5 weeks, while Sandeman’s 10 or 20 Year Old Tawny will be great even after 10 or 12 weeks.

Can you drink a 100 year old wine?

I’ve personally tried some really old wines—including a Port that was about a hundred years old—that were fantastic. I’ve had others that were over the hill at their 10th anniversary. Many if not most wines are made to be drunk more or less immediately, and they’ll never be better than on the day they’re released.

What is the best Madeira wine for cooking?

Malmsey is the sweetest type of Madeira and it has distinctive aromas of burnt caramel, chili pepper and raisins. This wine is an excellent dessert wine and is often used in sweet recipes. Sercial and Verdelho are recommended for savory recipes.

Can you drink a 50 year old wine?

In general, my experience around older wines is that they are ephemeral. Even if you can drink them over a long period of time like the great Barolo I tasted (i.e. they don’t oxidize quickly), they evolve in the glass rapidly. Madeira is your best bet for a wine that will taste as it is intended by the winery.