More than 'cooking wine,' centuries-old madeira modern again

Madeira has got to be the world's wackiest wine.

Most folks know madeira as "cooking wine," stocked on dusty bottom retail shelves. Aficionado's, however, prize madeira as the finest of the rare, aged on likewise dusty cellars shelves, auctioned for $200 per bottle and up.

Madeira lends its moniker to "maderized," qualities considered faulty in all wine - except madeira.

And this most traditional wine, beloved of Shakespeare, chosen to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is modern again, with the all the most appealing characteristics of the undead.

Madeira takes its name from the Madeira archipelago, bobbing in the Atlantic some 350 miles north of Africa. Beginning in the 1400s, it proved a convenient rest-stop, first for Portuguese seafarers, then for all of Europe. An essential supply was Madeira's wine, which the Portuguese stabilized for voyages by adding distilled spirit. This was custom back home in their local wine - Port - but even Port turned sour in the punishing heat and air of a ship's hold. Madeira, however, tasted even better after "baking."

Today, technology substitutes for months at sea. Most madeira is a blend of harvests, heated to about 130 degrees in tanks for three months or steamed in barrels for six. The finest madeira is vintage-dated, aged in barrels exposed to the grueling sun for three to 100 years, commanding descriptions of "mint and butterscotch" or "firm, intense and intriguing" even from bottles tasted 150 years after harvest.

Lacking several hundred dollars, we can still glimpse the immortal in non-vintage styles:

Serial is the lightest, driest style, with flavors including almonds, coffee and butterscotch, beginning at $20. Serve for cocktails or with light seafood, including sushi.

Verdelho adds dried fruit and smoky notes, beginning at $20. Serve with seafood and light meats.

Boil and Malmsey are dark, rich and raisin-y with truffle and nut complexity, beginning at $20-ish. Serve after dinner with cheese, toffee and coffee.

All madeira is characterized by intense acidity that softens with age. Prices climb quickly depending on length of maturation but madeira lovers eschew wines under three years old.

"Rainwater," about $15, is beginner's madeira with aromas that recall the falling leaves, bonfires and taffy apples and flavors of toffee and dried fruit. It's my favorite for toasting the coming of winter and the promised rebirth of spring.

• Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator Mary Ross writes Good Wine twice a month. Write her at food@dailyherald.com.