Madeira - Day 6 - Some Madeira, M'dear

On the agenda for the day was to find the tourist office.

Once in the downtown area I noticed the black and white mosaic sidewalks mentioned in my guidebook.

Different streets seem to have different patterns.

I suppose, once memorized,

you could tell where you are

by just

looking down.

I  found the, quite small, tourist office and picked up brochures on walking tours and bus timetables.

Next door was a place advertising a wine tour and tasting. New agenda item!

The tour was 45 minutes long and in English.

Blandy's wine lodge has been run by the same family for 7 generations.

First stop was the cooperage. The barrels are made from American White Oak and made by hand. Some, in use, are 100 years old and they are only retired if they start to leak or have a negative effect on the wine.

Banana leaves are used to make a seal between the staves and then the insides are burnt to assist in making them tight.

Next we were taken into the attics where the wine is stored for a minimum of 5 years, sometimes as long as 30. The wine ages in the barrel and stops aging once bottled.  The rooms are not climate controlled but the barrels are moved between the rooms following the most conducive temperature. The naturally occurring heat is utilized.

Madeira is so mountainous that there are limited areas available for the vineyard terraces and the Madeiran wine is fortified with Spanish grape alcohol.

All the tastes and aromas that can be found in the wine.

The wine making started in 1808, but  the Blandy family does not only produce wine it has also, over the years, had a variety of other businesses; coal. light industry, banking, shipping and hotels.

Finally we sampled 2 wines. Both too sweet for my taste.

When I came out the sky was covered with dark clouds but even so I got home without seeing any rain.

Blanca told me that Funchal has not had rain since the first week in January. Although this is their rainy season, most of the rain falls on the north side of the island, clouds stopped by the mountains. For the next 7 days the only mention of rain in the forecast is a, remote, 40% chance on one day.