Around the hour-and-a-half mark of the flight from Lisbon to the island of Madeira, the plane begins its descent over the Atlantic. At first, there’s little but endless water visible from the cabin window. Then, the low-hanging clouds on the horizon give way to the broken, bony cliffs of Ponta de São Lourenço.
Swooping over the top of these cliffs, it seems like the plane is about to land, but it then does a massive hook starboard, aweing passengers with the Madeiran landscape. Only then is Cristiano Ronaldo Airport—a little strip of concrete tacked onto the side of the cliff—visible, and the plane makes its final approach before landing at what has been described as the most dangerous airport in Europe.
My grandparents never stopped talking about this landing, which, in their defense, was much more treacherous when they made this trip in the 1990s, as the runway was 40% shorter. My great-grandmother Benta was from the island, and my American-born grandfather wanted to visit her homeland. I did as well, leading me to put more faith into the ability of an airplane pilot than I ever had before.
The capital of Madeira, Funchal, seems to still have many of the buildings my great-grandmother would have known from her youth. Yet much like Porto, on the mainland, Funchal and Madeira at large have been reborn in the past two decades as not only tourism destinations but also gastronomic ones. In the process, great swaths of vineyards have been cleared to make way for development.
Ironically, to Benta, the state of the vineyards would likely be the least jarring aspect of the modern island. In the second half of the 19th century, when she lived there, Madeira’s wine industry had entered a tremendous state of decline. It rebounded in the early 20th century, only to begin a longer decline that has continued through the present day.
Currently, there are an estimated 440 hectares (1,090 acres) of vineyards on the island (some sources state as many as 500 hectares, or 1,240 acres, or as few as 400 hectares, or 990 acres). This is a huge decline from a peak of more than 5,000 hectares (12,400 acres) in the early 19th century, or even the 2,500 hectares (6,200 acres) that were planted in 1860.
The debate rages in wine circles: are fortified wines cool again, or not? But the fact is, sales for the category have declined, and it’s an important moment to ask where Madeira fits in the modern age of wine drinking.
Wine production on Madeira, established once the island became an important port on the transatlantic trade routes, spans roughly five centuries.
The initial wines were unfortified and quite unstable, which led to the addition of distilled cane sugar to help them survive the long sea voyage. Regular fortification didn’t become de rigueur until the 18th century. But those on the receiving end noted that the wines arriving by ship had a taste they preferred, a result of being stored in heated holds, and the process of sending wine back and forth to age began. As this was costly, they began to use estufas, purpose-built heated rooms, on the island to mature the wines.
The result was a tremendous boom in the trade of Madeira wine throughout the 17th and 18th centuries as it was shipped to the colonies of the Americas. Perhaps the most famed moment for Madeira came in 1776, when it was used to toast the signing of the American Declaration of Independence.
Starting in the mid-1850s, fortunes took a turn for the worse as oidium reached the island; after it was controlled using sulfur, phylloxera decimated the vines. Many vineyard owners replanted with sugarcane. The wine industry did not undergo another boom period until the early 20th century, but it soon crashed again as the outbreak of large-scale wars heavily disrupted trade.
Madeira never truly recovered to its former levels. These challenges, combined with the declining interest in fortified wines from all regions of the world, resulted in consolidation to only 8 exporters on the island, down from a historic high of 30. These exporters, encompassing multiple brands, are Justino’s Madeira Wines (the largest), H.M. Borges, J. Faria & Filhos, Madeira Wine Company (which includes Blandy’s and others), Vinhos Barbeito, D’Oliveira, Madeira Vintners, and Henriques & Henriques.
It’s not just the flight into Madeira that is dramatic; on the island, sharp peaks dominate every vantage, some rising 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) straight up from the shoreline. Traveling through the area used to be even more extreme than it is now. As Richard Mayson explains in his book Madeira, “As recently as the mid-1990s it took half a day to drive from Funchal to the vineyards at São Vicente on the north side of the island, whereas today—with an impressive network of tunnels and expressways—they can be reached in as little as forty minutes.”
With limited flatland available, plots are extremely small. There are an estimated 1,150 growers and 4,000 vineyard plots on the island, with the average plot size just 0.095 hectares (0.23 acres).
Most plantings (some 240 hectares, or 595 acres) are of the red grape variety Tinta Negra Mole (Negramoll, Listán Negro), and it produces approximately 80% of all the wine on the island. It’s traditional in the Canary Islands and thought to be native to Andalusia. Because of the grape’s high yields, wines from Tinta Negra Mole have generally been considered lower quality than those made from the traditional white varieties. Barbeito, however, now lists Tinta Negra Mole on its labels and produces fine wines from the grape. Its vintage Colheita wines show proof of concept exceedingly well, with the 2011 just coming into its ideal drinking window.
Madeira’s white varieties occupy small corners of the island, with Verdelho at roughly 47 hectares (116 acres), Sercial at 22 hectares (54 acres), Boal (Malvasia Fina) at 14 hectares (35 acres), and Caracol at 11 hectares (27 acres). There are even smaller plots of both the red Bastardo (Trousseau) and white Listrão (Palomino).
One of the most challenging wines to understand is Malmsey. Historically, this was based on the grape Malvasia Cândida (also known as Malvasia di Lipari, Greco Bianco di Gerace, Malvasia de Sitges, and Malvasija Dubrovačka), but there are only two hectares (5 acres) of it on the island today. Malvasia de São Jorge, which is a crossing of Uva Cão and Vital, now predominates, at 35 hectares (86 acres). Today, this is the grape most often used for wines labeled as Malmsey.
Like Sherry, Port, and other fortified wines, Madeira has several names and classifications, including the following:
Madeira also has a variety of sweetness definitions, which differ from those used in Champagne and elsewhere. They are as follows:
There are also sweetness classifications linked to varieties, adding a layer of complexity. If the grape is indicated, Sercial must be dry or extra dry, Verdelho must be medium dry, Boal must be medium sweet, Malvasia must be sweet, and Terrantez must be medium sweet or medium dry.
Madeira has struggled in the modern wine market, perhaps because of its unique flavors, the complexity of its classifications, the challenges of standing out in the small, fortified wine segment, or a combination of these factors. While all wine sales have declined in recent years, sales of fortified wines have dropped more precipitously than those of other categories. What’s worrying for Madeira is that, while the overall volume of wine increased by 5.2% in 2024 over 2023, the overall value decreased by 1.8%. Outside the EU (where value increased 0.6%), value decreased the most, at 9.3%. While the United States was the largest non-EU value drop, at 23.4%, it was, interestingly, balanced out by a 27.8% increase in value to Japan, where volume also grew 43.7%. Included in these totals are Madeira wines produced for use in cooking, which are typically made using the cheaper estufagem method and higher-production Tinta Negra Mole grapes.
Facing decreasing sales, wineries must creatively reimagine how to sell their wines. Blandy’s is at the forefront of this process. The brand’s PR manager, Ana Vieira Soares, who says that 30% of Blandy’s sales are directly from enotourism, explains, “While it’s possible to buy many of the Madeira wines once you pass through security at the airport, we’ve taken that one step further by having people buy them here at the lodge but then pick them up at this distribution point so they can have them as carry-on.”
Madeira has many direct flights to the UK and US, which are Blandy’s top markets for the long-aged wines, and tourism on the island is significant, with 2.2 million visitors in 2024, up 6.5% from 2023. But despite these strong tourism numbers, the wines, particularly at higher price points, are not selling well.
Some speculate about the potential of dry, unfortified wines. Madeirense DOP and Terras Madeirenses IGP were created in 1999 and 2004, respectively, for this category. One of the biggest brands pursuing dry wines is the Madeira Wine Company (owner of Blandy’s), which, in the 1990s, created its Atlantis line of still wines. Individual sales figures for those wines are not released, but, when I visited Barbeito, the shop manager, Leandro Gouveia, told me that in a good year, of 200,000 liters of production, the producer has only slightly over 5,000 bottles of still wines.
Other brands making dry wines include Boneca de Canudo, Pedra de Fogo, Beijo, Arcobom, Barbusano, and Terra Bona. Previously, I saw promise in the Ilha wines from Diana Silva, which showcased local varieties and demonstrated that still wines from Madeira can be very compelling. But these seem to have vanished after a short run (I encountered them at the airport, though only 2019 vintages).
António Maçanita has received attention as well for his Companhia de Vinhos dos Profetas e Villões, started in 2020. He makes wines on the mainland, in the Azores, and on Madeira, where he works with his friend Nuno Faria. These Madeiran wines are made with grapes from Porto Santo, where there are only 14 hectares (35 acres) of vines on the entire island!
While there are compelling dry wines produced, volume is far below that of the traditional fortified wines. As this category is, at least at present, not an answer to the struggles of Madeira, what can be done to move the fortified wines?
Ronan Sayburn, MS, a great advocate for the world’s classic wines, says that, in his previous position at London’s 67 Pall Mall, “Chris Blandy did a 6,000-milliliter [bottle] of 1980 Terrantez that we sold in two weeks by the glass! We had wine lovers, but also the large bottle was strategically positioned en route to the bathroom, so it was an easy sell as long as the sommeliers and waiters were behind it.”
The bottle has been featured at the Singapore location of Pall Mall as well. Sayburn believes that, while it might require effort, it’s possible to generate excitement about Madeira. The Blandy’s wine, the equivalent of eight standard bottles, offered a show that attracted guests’ attention.
Pascaline Lepeltier, the beverage director of Chambers, in New York City, says that her sales “stay steady, with a good mix between entry level and the top, rare Frasqueira.” But she also added that the unfortified wines have never crossed her path as a buyer.
One avenue for encouraging restaurant sales of Madeira is through pairings. Although sweet, the wines are great for pairing with foods because of their very high acidity (8–10 grams per liter of tartaric acidity). Sercial pairs well with many fish dishes, including sushi, which possibly explains the very positive Japanese sales figures in 2023. Verdelho is similar to Fino Sherry in its suitability with olives, almonds, and hams. Bual and Malvasia sing when paired with soft cheeses.
For Madeira to thrive in the wine market, producers and those working in restaurants and retail will need to continue to think creatively. Hospitality professionals can still move the wines, but it requires effort.
There also seems to be room for growth in direct local sales, which are already strong at 30%. Yet, unlike the wines of regions such as Napa Valley, Madeira will never be an everyday kind of wine. This is a key limitation that is hard to overcome.
Madeira’s producers also face issues resulting from climate change. Vieira Soares said that workers used to have a pause in the harvest, but now they continue straight through it, as all the grapes ripen at the same time. Additionally, the harvest is much earlier. Gouveia explains, “We used to start harvest at the end of August, but 2024 was the first year it happened at the start [of the month].” For now, harvest dates and picking teams can be adjusted to adapt to these changes.
So far, Madeira doesn’t have water issues, with 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) of canals crisscrossing the island and plentiful rain that can reach 3,000 millimeters (120 inches) annually at the peaks of the mountains. But the winters are getting warmer, not dropping below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit), and even reaching 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in January. This is mixed with more extreme weather conditions, leading to more disease pressure and the need for more chemical application in the vineyards.
Madeira’s challenges are plentiful, but its industry is adapting, and winemakers are trying new approaches, with both producers and fans of Madeira hopeful that the island has yet another half century of winemaking ahead.
Direção Regional de Estatística da Madeira. “In 2024.” Statistical Information. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://estatistica.madeira.gov.pt/en/download-now-3/economic/comercio-gb/comerc-vinho-gb/comerc-vinho-noticias-gb/4997-31-01-2025-in-2024-the-revenue-from-the-first-sale-of-madeira-wine-decreased-by-1-8-despite-a-5-2-rise-in-volume.html.
Evans, Carl. “A Guide to Matching Madeira with Food.” Cotswold Port Company, November 28, 2016. https://www.cotswoldport.co.uk/blogs/pairing-food-with-madeira/a-guide-to-matching-madeira-with-food.
Harding, Julia, Jancis Robinson, and Tara Q. Thomas. The Oxford Companion to Wine. 5th ed. Oxford University Press, 2023.
Mayson, Richard. Madeira. 2nd ed. Academie du Vin Library, 2024.
Robinson, Janics, Julia Harding, and José Vouillamoz. Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours. Ecco, 2013.
Times of Madeira. “Madeira Tourism Hits Record €756 Million in 2024.” February 14, 2025. https://www.timesofmadeira.com/madeira-tourism-hits-record-756-million-in-2024.
Very good article... thank you!