It is no surprise to me that Elizabeth Gilbert’s famous book Eat Pray Love starts with eating. Food, exploration and healing go together as a holy trinity to me. When I am traveling, I discover culture and history through the stories of food and drink. It grounds me to that place and to their heritage. When I’m exploring I am learning, I am experiencing the unknown, widening my gaze and my understanding of the world around me, further understanding how I relate and my place in it. Nothing heals my soul and connects me to my best self more than knowledge and experiential expansion. If not for my love and many trips to Portugal, I wonder if I would have ever truly experience Madeira. I certainly would never have understood how Madiera (or Madera) was closely connected to my American roots.
My parents spent a bit of time tracing our Genealogy and did a bit of research utilizing the Mormon’s vast and extensive databases. With the advent of the internet and Ancestry.com. I was able to pick up the story and find out that my great (a lot of greats) grandfather Reverend Moses Holland. I’m not special in this fact. In reality, it is estimated that there are over 190 million relatives of his out there. I digress, he was born in Virginia in 1758 and was a drummer in Charlotte Co. militia and was present when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. This battle was the last major land battle of the American Revolution and the surrender of Cornwallis to General Washington is what prompted the British government to negotiate an end to the war. I’m proud that my American roots go back to before we were a United States of America and, I’m pretty sure that my family was drinking Madeira.
Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Madeira islands of Portugal just off the coast of Africa (Brandy and Port are examples of fortified wines). The origins of this drink goes back to the 15th century and the Age of Exploration. Ships travelling to the East Indies would want wines for their long journey and they would stop by these islands to get the fortified wine that with a longer shelf-life would be more suited for the voyage. By the 18th century many of those ships and their wines were heading to the United States of America. John Hancock’s boat the Liberty was one of these ships and was seized by the British causing riots in Boston. John Hancock was not the only one of America’s forefathers who enjoyed or even wrote about the drink. Thomas Jefferson used Madeira to toast the Declaration of Independence. George Washington toasted his inauguration with Madeira.
Needless to say, I know what I will be drinking on the next 4th of July – Madeira, and it will more than likely be a Madeira from The Rare Wine Company’s History Madeira Series. It was in the historic city center of Boston that I was appropriately introduced to this Madeira. It is the goal of the Rare Wine Company to import quality Madeira and to bring to light the history and connection American’s share with the drink. As stated on their website, “each wine in the series is named for a U.S. city where Madeira was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus, Charleston Sercial and Savannah Verdelho celebrate the South’s love of drier Madeiras, while Boston Bual and New York Malmsey acknowledge the North’s appreciation of sweeter Madeiras.” There’s something pretty cool to be toasting wine that is pretty similar to what Moses was sipping.
The Rare Wine Co. Historic Series Madeira Savanna Verdelho
🍇 Verdelho, Tinta Negra Mole
🥴 19% APV
📆 not sure
📍 Madeira, Portugal
🏵️ 92pts Wine Spectator
👀 Medium amber with a green rim
👃 burnt orange, tobacco, toffee and herbs
🍷 medium-bodied, well balanced with good acidity. I tasted lots of almonds. Not too sweet
⏳ Now to 2025
💰 $55
📝 This is the perfect wine to have with cakes and cream! Dessert and a historic wine! Yes please! Also, given the shelf life you can enjoy it for about a year from opening. That’s a lot of food pairings and serious value for money.
