madeira

When Portuguese sailors reached the uninhabited Atlantic island in 1419, they found it covered in dense laurel forest. They named it Ilha da Madeira — 'Island of Wood' — from Latin materia, 'timber' or 'substance.' According to tradition, they then set fire to the forest to clear land for agriculture. The fire reportedly burned for seven years. The ash enriched the volcanic soil, and the first grapevines were planted in the 1450s.

Madeira wine was an accident of the shipping trade. Barrels of wine stored in the holds of ships sailing to the East Indies were exposed to tropical heat during the long voyage through the equator. Instead of spoiling, the wine improved — the heat and gentle rocking transformed it. Winemakers began deliberately heating their wine in a process called estufagem, replicating the ocean voyage in heated warehouses. The wine was designed to survive a trip around the world.

Madeira was the wine of the American colonies. It traveled well, actually improving in barrel during the Atlantic crossing. The Founding Fathers drank it constantly. George Washington reportedly consumed a pint of Madeira daily. The Declaration of Independence was toasted with Madeira. John Hancock was one of the largest Madeira importers in Boston. It was the American wine before American wine existed.

The phylloxera epidemic of the 1870s devastated Madeira's vineyards. Recovery was slow and incomplete. The wine that had been among the world's most popular never fully regained its former status. Today, vintage Madeira is one of the longest-lived wines in existence — bottles from the 1700s are still drinkable. A wine named after wood, improved by fire and ocean heat, and aged for centuries in barrels. It was built to endure.