Maderia Questions

WINE TALK
1

I just picked up a Leacock Rainwater Medium Dry Madeira to use in a recipe for dinner tonight.

I’ve never had a Madeira. Should I put it in the fridge or leave at room temp?

Is this type of Madeira preferable to my other 2 choices; Dry Aperitif or Full Rich?

If I’m going to taste as well as cook with it, should I drink it by itself or serve it with something?

2

David, in my limited experience with Madeira, Rainwater is one of the lightest styles around and would certainly lend itself better to cooking than a sweet Madeira would. Use the Rainwater or Sercial.

3

All due respect to Berserkers, there is one place where you can likely get a REALLY thorough response on this one: For The Love Of Port - Index page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

4

Absolutely. [thumbs-up.gif]

5

BTW, I can answer one question. Fridge or not doesn’t really matter for Madeira. You can’t really kill it. The only concern would be having a pepper serving temperature for the wine you drink so the spirit doesn’t overwhelm the other aspects. My personal ideal is starting at cellar temp (55 degrees) and then warming slowly in the glass.

6

Eric,

Thanks. I put it in the fridge for about an hour after getting home. Took it out, popped and poured with it slightly chilled. Hints of brown sugar, honey, and coffee? A little bit of heat, but rather pleasant. Nice to sip on while preparing dinner, chicken with Morels in a sauce from Madeira, butter, shallot, garlic, cream, and cream fraiche.

Also thank for the tip on FLTOP. Just signed up and posted over there.

Cheers,

Jeff

7

Sounds yummy! For me many Madeira have a sort of cooked onion thing that is a little odd at first but which really grows on you. Some people refer it as more a salty/brothy/beefy thing in some cases. The surprising thing about a lot of Madeira is the very dominant acidity. You often don’t even notice it under all of the richness.

Looks like a few notes over here as well on CellarTracker (my site): http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=182323" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

8

It is pretty tasty. Will have to go back to it after dinner. Didn’t even think to add it to my cellar in CT. Will need to do so and throw in my TN as well. Looks like others got it for a lot less than I got it locally. I paid $18.

9

It’s fun to see the Gary Vaynerchuck tasting of this one (on the same page I linked before) from 2007. He looks young!

10

Article in Slate on Maderia last Friday:

Hey, Tea Partiers, this wine's for you!" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;