4: Madeira Flashcards
What is Madeira? Where is it located?
- a Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean around 600 km from the coast of Morocco
- the name of the fortified wine made on this island
When was the island of Madeira discovered?
1419
Who first colonised the island of Madeira?
Portuguese merchants and their labourers
When the Portuguese landed in Madeira, what did they do?
- large areas of forest were burnt to provide room for agriculture and increase the fertility of the soil
- terraces and irrigation channels were built
What were the original crops and exports of the island?
initially sugar, wheat and vines
When did wine become the main export? Why?
when the sugar industry declined during the 16th Century mainly due to competition from other countries
Why did wine exports grow in the 17th and 18th Centuries?
British merchants arrived in Madeira and sent the wine to their colonies in North America and the West Indies
What was common during the 17th and 18th Centuries to improve quality?
- long periods of time pitching and rolling in the holds of ships sailing to and from the tropics
- soon the wines were used as hold ballast on such trips, with the sole purpose of improving the quality of the wine
Why did wine exports suffer in the 19th Century?
powdery mildew and then phylloxera hit the island in the mid to late 19th century, destroying vines and reducing yields
Why did wine exports suffer in the 20th Century?
- Prohibition in the USA
- two World Wars
- the Russian Revolution
Why did sales not fully recover towards the end of the 20th century?
more stable, but consumer tastes had changed
What was the first institution founded to to regulate Madeira production? When?
- Instituto do Vinho da Madeira
- founded in 1979
What superseded the Instituto do Vinho da Madeira? When?
- Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira, IP-RAM (IVBAM)
- 2006
When did Portugal become part of the EU?
1986
How has joining the EU impacted Madeira wines?
EU subsidies led to improvements in the quality
