Dust on the Royal Bottles:
How Porto, Jerez, and Madeira Became Liquid Wine Monuments
Author: Predrag Gavrilović
London, mid-19th century — the capital of power in every sense: political, geostrategic, military, diplomatic and commercial. The key players and most influential people of the time often and very happily gathered for decadent dinners. As a rule, they ended quickly, and the signal for this was the moment when the host lady would invite the other ladies to the salon for tea. For the gentlemen, then a kind of "third half" would begin, which had a clear beginning but an undefined end.
At that point, everyone would eagerly await the beginning of the serving of His Majesty — Port. Served in special glass decanters, it would circulate from left to right according to a strictly established ritual. Each person would pour themselves some wine and pass the decanter on, with serious reproach if anyone held onto it for too long. The sequence generally went from younger, fruitier wines served with Stilton cheese and nuts, while the finale would be Vintage Port, accompanied by premium cigars. The most enjoyable part of the evening could then begin, with the inevitable topics: politics, business, innovation, and travel.
Port, a symbol of the British upper classes, originated two centuries before these events as a consequence of the wars between England and France — more precisely in 1689, when a complete ban on the import of French wines was introduced. English merchants quickly found a replacement in Portugal, more precisely in the Douro River Valley. However, they soon realized that these wines were quite fragile and could not withstand long transportation. This led them to the idea of adding wine spirit (brandy) to the wines and thus preserving them from spoilage. In this way, the category of fortified wines was created. They were characterized by an alcohol content of between 18 and 20%, a large amount of residual sugar, and enormous potential for ageing in the bottle. From that time until today, this fantastic and unique wine has travelled the path from royal courts to oblivion.
Aged categories of Port are capable of delivering softness and elegance despite the higher alcohol content, as well as complexity and a long-lasting aftertaste. Vintage Port is a wine that should be left for at least a decade — you will be rewarded whenever you choose to open it.
Spanish Jerez, or as the world came to know it — Sherry, is another legendary wine of Andalusia that is today unjustly forgotten and marginalized. The Phoenicians founded the city of Cádiz and brought grapevines, while the Moors later made their contribution by producing the alcohol used to fortify the wines. Sherry gained importance beyond the borders of Spain at the end of the 16th century, when the pirate Francis Drake, acting on behalf of the English queen, looted several thousand barrels of this wine. It soon became an absolute hit and a matter of prestige among the British nobility.
By the mid-18th century, production had been standardized and restricted to the area of the cities of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. The dominant grape variety is Palomino, while the basic styles are Fino and Manzanilla, which are fresher dry wines aged under a layer of “flor” — a protective yeast that shields them from oxidation. In contrast are Amontillado, Oloroso, and Palo Cortado, oxidative styles aged in the unique Solera system, where younger and older wines are blended over decades, creating unparalleled complexity and depth.
Port
Sherry (Jerez)
Madeira
I haven’t tried any of them
The last member of this trio is the legendary Madeira. This fortified wine comes from the island of the same name and carries a vivid story of survival and adaptation. Shortly after its discovery, Madeira, due to its geographical position, became a strategic port for replenishing supplies on the way to the New World. Wines that spoiled during long voyages were once again saved by adding spirit, originally distilled from sugar cane. Spending months or years on ships, exposed to extremely warm weather and oxygen, these wines developed unique aromas of coffee, caramel, cocoa, orange peel, chocolate, roasted nuts, marzipan, and dried plums.
Today, Madeira is produced mainly from the Tinta Negra variety, which replaced the old local varieties after the disasters caused by powdery mildew and phylloxera. The effect of months-long voyages through tropical regions is now achieved in special tanks where the Estufagem process takes place. Today, the wines are produced in both sweet and drier, fresher styles.
Unfortunately, these celebrated fortified wines — once symbols of prestige and luxury in the colonial era — have been steadily losing popularity and significance in recent decades, for a number of reasons.
These wines are generally characterized by a higher alcohol content and a noticeable amount of residual sugar, which often makes them too heavy for younger generations of consumers. They do not fit into the modern trend of light, fresh, easy-drinking wines. In addition, they are seen as a rustic relic of the past — wines from the era of our grandparents.
The decline in Sherry’s popularity was also significantly influenced by the abolition of subsidies following Spain’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1986. An additional blow to its reputation came from the enormous quantities of sweet Cream Sherry style — wines of more modest quality that at one point flooded the markets of the United Kingdom and Western Europe. On the other hand, Madeira’s popularity has been steadily declining since the time of Prohibition in the United States, while simple versions intended exclusively for cooking further degraded the perception of this wine on the market.
Overall, Port, Sherry, and Madeira are true wine masterpieces that modern audiences do not understand well enough, considering them too heavy. Their incredible diversity has been overlooked — from completely dry to extremely sweet versions. It is precisely this range that gives them fantastic possibilities for food pairing, especially in modern gastronomic trends.
Traditionally, these wines were for centuries an essential part of cigar culture, as some of the few wines that, with their complexity, body, structure, and acidity, can accompany even the most demanding cigars. Among fortified wines, there truly are ideal companions for every occasion — from aperitif to digestif.
The longevity of most of these wines is something that must be especially emphasized. Some of them, such as old Sherries, Vintage Port, or Madeira, have the potential to age for more than a century. It is fascinating to taste a wine that is 60, 70, or more years old, whose complexity, layers of aromas, and length of flavor are breathtaking. Such wines are a kind of time capsule in which viticultural eras that no longer exist have been preserved — grapes, varieties, and practices from a time before climate change, which today is completely reshaping the world of wine. It is history trapped in a bottle and a unique witness to time.
After all, Madeira was the wine used to celebrate the adoption of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Perhaps now is the right time for it to return to its deserved place at the table — who knows, maybe it will bring us luck too.
