All Madeira wines should be stored upright, away from direct sunlight and just below room temperature. 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).
Madeira is a long-lasting fortified wine that is made on a small Portuguese island of the same name. It is often served as an aperitif or dessert wine depending on the level of sweetness and is used in cooking, especially for making sauces. Madeira tends to have a rich flavor with nutty and caramel notes.
When to Drink Madeira: Dry styles of Madeira (such as Sercial and Verdelho) are served chilled with starter courses, and sweeter styles as after-dinner-sippers like a fine Cognac.
Spirits and madeira can be kept in a (stoppered) decanter virtually forever but port and even sherry tends to deteriorate after a week or sometimes less. Wine that has not been strengthened by alcohol is often worse (and occasionally, in the case of concentrated, tannic monsters, better) after 24 hours in a decanter.
More below. Port: Port wine hails from Portugal, and specifically, the Duoro Valley. Madeira: Madeira hails from Portugal's Madeira Islands. The wine can range from dry to sweet, and is most notable for its aging process known as estufagem.
The four major grapes used to make Madeira, in increasing order of sweetness, are Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey. For cooking, we recommend a Reserve-level wine, which will have been aged for at least five years.
Madeiras love oxygen, and so early decanting is often important—not just to remove sediment, but for breathing. A Madeira that's been in bottle for just two or three years will show superbly with just a few hours breathing, but a wine bottled in the 1970s would ideally be decanted three or four days before serving.
2/ Keep your wine in the fridgeBut you shouldn't be afraid of storing opened red wine in the fridge. Cooler temperatures slow down chemical processes, including oxidation. A re-closed bottle of red or white wine in the fridge can stay relatively fresh for up to five days.
Madeira is a Portuguese white wine fortified with brandy. Madeira is unique in that it's heated during the wine-making process, which makes it especially good for cooking since exposure to heat doesn't affect its rich, nuanced toffee-like flavor.
Keep the open wine bottle out of light and stored under room temperature. In most cases, a refrigerator goes a long way to keeping wine for longer, even red wines. When stored at colder temperatures, the chemical processes slow down, including the process of oxidation that takes place when oxygen hits the wine.
When to put red wine in the refrigeratorVery few red wines need to be completely chilled before drinking with the exception of sparkling wines like Lambrusco. But reds can benefit from being in the refrigerator after they've been opened. "Once you open a bottle of red and are done drinking it, keep it in the fridge.
Keep the open wine bottle out of light and stored under room temperature. In most cases a refrigerator goes a long way to keeping wine fresh longer; even red wines. When stored at colder temperatures the chemical processes slow down, including the process of oxidation that takes place when wine is exposed to oxygen.
Madeira Alphabetical Listing
| Wine | Score | Release Price |
|---|
| Blandy's Malmsey Madeira 15 Year Old Rich NV | 93 | $40 |
| Blandy's Bual Madeira 5 Years Old Medium Rich NV | 91 | $24 |
| Blandy's Verdelho Madeira 1973 | 92 | $275 |
| Blandy's Verdelho Madeira 5 Year Old Medium Dry NV | 90 | $24 |
Madeira has a well-earned reputation as a long-lived, bulletproof wine. Not only is it fortified, but it's also high in acidity, which is a stabilizing factor, and it's made in an oxidative style, which is where some of the wine's nuttiness comes from.
Madeira: This fortified wine has a lot of the same flavor characteristics as Marsala so it will taste similar, though not quite the same. Port: Depending on the type of Port you buy, this substitution could be good but a bit pricey.
Trader Joe's Tinta Madeira Port.
Madeira SubstituteUnless your recipe specifically calls for a sweet Madeira, opt for a dry substitute. Other acceptable alternatives are dark sherry, port, or red vermouth.
PC: Madeira is a fortified wine. It's made with red or white grapes, but mostly red grapes. It is a sweet wine, but the levels of sweetness change from wine to wine; you can have a dry Madeira, which has a touch of sweetness, or you can have a sweet Madeira, which is in fact quite rich and sweet.
Because the island was a customary port-of-call on the trade routes between Europe and the New World, this durable wine was very popular in colonial America. Madeira wine is fortified with brandy during fermentation to raise its alcoholic content to 18–20 percent.
1. Madeira. Madeira is your best substitute for Marsala wine. It is almost identical to Marsala in terms of color and flavor.
Marsala is made around the town of the same name on the Italian island of Sicily. Though nothing like Madeira in taste or fabrication, it also became a fortified wine so that it would survive the long sea voyages to foreign ports in the days of the tall ships.
Chicken Madeira is made with Madeira wine and beef stock, while Chicken Marsala is made with Marsala wine and chicken stock. The only differences in the two are the amounts of beef stock and wine used and the addition of corn starch to thicken the sauce mixture up. The recipe I used can be found here.
Due to the fortifying process, Marsala wine lasts 4-6 months after opening. Although it won't go bad if you keep it in the cupboard longer than six months after opening, it will start to lose its flavor and fragrance. It's best to store Marsala in a cool, dry place much like you would olive oil.
What is the difference between Sherry, Port and Marsala? Sherry is made in Andalusia, Spain and can be made both dry and sweet. Unlike sherry and port, Marsala has a unique complexity that sets it apart, and since it is made in both dry and sweet varieties, it the perfect choice for cooking, from sweet to savory meals.
Marsala wine is most often used in Italian dishes such as chicken or veal Marsala or in recipes that require red wine. Replace the measurement of red wine that your recipe requires and replace the wine with Marsala. For example, if your meat sauce requires 2 cups of red wine, replace the wine with 2 cups of Marsala.
