On July 4, the Portuguese National Tourist Office held the “Madeira & Madeira Wine Seminar” for the industry at the Portuguese Embassy in Nishiazabu, Minato-ku.
The Portuguese Madeira Islands consist of four islands in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,000 km southwest of the capital, Lisbon. It is characterized by a mild and pleasant climate that is often likened to an “island of everlasting spring,” with an average temperature of about 24°C in summer and 19°C in winter.
On the north side of Madeira, the main island, there is a World Natural Heritage site called “Laurisilva,” an evergreen forest, while the port city of Funchal on the south side has the “Labradores Market” with its tropical fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish, and the “Monte Palace Tropical Botanical Garden” on a small hill overlooking the city and its magnificent view of the ocean, with beautiful flowers in full bloom.
The old irrigation ditches that were built to carry water from the mountains to the towns are now used as trekking trails through the dense forests, and dolphin and whale watching in the cobalt blue waters is a regular activity. If you go to Porto Santo, the second largest island in the archipelago, you can enjoy a 9-km stretch of white sand beach.
Despite its small size (approximately 740 km2), Madeira Island is dotted with many tourist attractions and is often referred to as the “Pearl of the Atlantic.
Accommodations range from reasonable to luxury hotels, and with easy accessibility, it has become a standard resort (positioned like Okinawa in Japan) for Europeans to spend their leisure time.
Ines Queiroz, Director General of Tourism of Portugal, cited a variety of events held throughout the year as one of the main reasons for recommending Madeira.
The Carnival in March, the Flower Festival in May, and the Atlantic Festival in June. The Christmas and New Year’s events are so popular that hotels are booked up to a year in advance in order to see the spectacular fireworks display.
Although there are no direct flights from Japan, direct flights and LCCs operate frequently from 14 major European cities, making it possible to access the country without going through Lisbon, Portugal.
And although the island may not be very familiar to Japanese, many soccer fans know it as the birthplace of Cristiano Ronaldo, and in 2016 the Madeira Airport, the gateway to the island, was renamed the Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport to honor his glory. It was renamed to “Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport” in his honor. The statue of Cristiano Ronaldo that sits in the airport has become a bit of a new landmark.
Madeira’s most famous specialty is Madeira wine. At this seminar, Mr. Ricardo Freitas, representative of Barbeito, the main manufacturer of Madeira wine, visited Japan and gave a presentation on the production method and its appeal.
Madeira wine is classified as a “fortified wine” in the same category as port from Portugal, sherry from Spain, and Marsala from Italy.
Fortification is the process of forcibly stopping fermentation by adding alcohol such as spirits to pressed grape juice. This is then heat-aged in barrels for seven years (deliberately oxidized by applying heat, which is normally the enemy of wine, to evaporate water), which condenses the components and produces a unique flavor.
While ordinary still wines (red and white wines) have an alcohol content of 9-15%, fortified wines have a very high alcohol content of about 17%. However, since the wine is already oxidized after uncorking, there is no need to finish it all at once, and the style is to savor it a little each day while appreciating its refreshing acidity and mellow sweetness. It is also popular to drink it with cold tonic water or soda.
Madeira wine has a long history, “first discovered by accident during the Age of Discovery in the 15th century,” says Ricardo. At Madeira Island, the last port of call across the Atlantic, merchants loaded their ships with plenty of food, water, and barrels of Madeira wine and set out on the long voyage to the Americas.
The heat added near the equator, which it passed through during this process, allowed it to mature deliciously. This wine was later favored by Americans as a beautiful wine, and became known to great men and aristocrats, leading to the development of the Madeira wine industry from around 1670. This is the reason why Madeira wines of 100 or 150 years old are still being sold today.
The island’s rugged terrain allows for the cultivation of four different types of grape varieties: dry, medium, medium-dry, medium-dry, and sweet. The harvest season is usually from the third week of August to the first week of October, and if you visit wineries on the island, you can experience harvesting and crushing grapes by foot in the traditional way.
The marriage of traditional dishes with local ingredients, such as char-grilled seafood, espetada (meat skewers similar to churrasco), and bollo de caco (sweet potato bread), is also an essential pleasure.
For those who want to try what it tastes like, but find it difficult to travel to the area (……), we recommend Madeira Entrada, a Madeira wine specialty store in Ginza (6-5-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo).
More than 160 Madeira wines are available, from light beginners to vintages, and all can be ordered by the glass. Come and experience a pseudo-experience of wine tourism, the pride of Madeira, Portugal.
© Source travel watch
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