MADEIRA.
Making.—In the island of Madeira it is the practice, according to Mr. Vizitelli, to tread the grapes thoroughly in a large, square wooden trough, or lagar, in which they are also pressed, as in sherry making. A great part of the juice is extracted by treading, being strained through a basket as it runs off into casks. After the grapes have been thoroughly trodden, the pomace is gathered together and piled in the centre of the lagar, and pressed and patted with the hands to extract the must, and this is repeated three times, and finally the pomace is again raised in a mound, wound with a rope, and pressed by means of a heavy beam suspended over the lagar. This primitive method, however, can have but little interest for the wine maker, as the essential practice in making Madeira, or rather in the aging of it, is the application of heat.
Casks, Treatment.—The must is fermented, the wine racked and heated, in casks holding 130 gallons. After heating, it is stored in casks holding about 400 gallons. It is fermented in these smaller casks with the bung open, simply covered by a leaf, till the month of November. Either before or after the fermentation, a small quantity of brandy is added, varying in quantity according to the quality of the must, but seldom exceeding three per cent. When the wine has well cleared, it is racked and lotted, according to quality, and forwarded to the heating house, or estufa.
Heating House, Heating.—One of these at Funchal, described by Vizitelli, consists of a block of buildings of two stories, divided into four compartments. “In the first of these, common wines are subjected to a temperature of 140°F., derived from flues heated with anthracite coal, for the space of three months. In the next compartment wines of an intermediate quality are heated up to 130° for a period of four and a half months, while the third is set apart for superior wines, heated variously from 110° to 120° for the term of six months. The fourth compartment, known as the ‘calor,’ possesses no flues, but derives its heat, varying from 90° to 100°, exclusively from the compartments adjacent; and here only high-classed wines are placed.” They receive a further addition of spirit, after leaving the estufa, varying in quantity from one to three gallons per cask, presumably to supply what has evaporated during the heating. Wines are also heated by exposing them to the rays of the sun in glass houses. In the day time a temperature of 120° to 130° is secured, which becomes considerably less during the night, which change is by many considered detrimental. Some again, put the casks out of doors in the full sunshine. In the estufas mentioned, the pipes are placed on end in stacks of four, with smaller casks on the top, a gangway being left between the different stacks. The casks are vented with a small hole during the process. Leaking is common during the exposure to so great a heat, and it is necessary to inspect the casks once during every day and once during the night.
Each compartment is provided with double doors, and after it is filled with wine, the inner door is plastered so as to stop all the cracks. In entering the estufa, only the outer door is opened, entrance through the inner one being made through a small door for the purpose. The man who examines the casks, coming out after a stay of an hour, drinks a tumblerful of wine, and cools off in a tight room provided for the purpose. From 10 to 15 per cent. of the wine is lost by evaporation while it remains in the heating house.
General Treatment—Alcoholic Strength.—The solera system is somewhat in vogue in Madeira, as in the sherry country. The practice also of leaving the casks in ullage prevails—a vacant space of ten or a dozen gallons is left. On the south side of the island 5 per cent. is the largest amount of alcohol added, and on the north side a little more, which is added at different times. Most Madeira is dry, or nearly so, and contains about 18 per cent. of alcohol on the average.