Madeira wine tasting in Funchal

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Visitors to Funchal usually taste Madeira wine within a day or two, and then wonder which lodge to choose and whether a tour is worth it. The answer depends on how much time you have. For a first Madeira wine tasting, the lodges in the centre of Funchal are a walk from each other: Blandy's on Avenida Arriaga, in the trade since 1811, with tours from €17, and H.M. Borges, founded in 1877, in a building it has used since 1924.

Beyond the centre, the houses of Câmara de Lobos, 14 minutes west, hold some of the oldest names, among them Henriques & Henriques, founded in 1850, and a full-day tour from Funchal ends with a tasting at a producer there.

Every bottle sold as Madeira has passed the regulator's analysis first, so the choice is about style and age, not safety.

What every bottle has passed

The common mistake is to worry about picking a bad bottle. The law makes that hard.

Madeira wine testing is done before any bottle reaches a shelf: everything sold as Madeira passes the physical, chemical and tasting analysis of IVBAM, the Madeira Wine, Embroidery and Handicraft Institute. The wine is made by one of two processes only, canteiro or estufagem, is 17% to 22% alcohol, is never sold in bulk and is bottled only in glass. An age on the label, 5, 10, 15, 20 years and up, must be confirmed by the institute's tasting panel.

That makes a tasting a matter of style. The four classic grapes run from dry to sweet: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia. Tinta Negra makes about nine in ten bottles.

Justino's Madeira wine comes from one of the largest houses: established as a company in 1926, with the family in the business since 1870, it built a new winery in 1994 in the Cancela industrial park in Santa Cruz and is believed to be the largest shipper of Madeira wine. It is a working winery rather than a lodge in the centre, so check with the house before planning a visit. The IVBAM regulates all of them.

The houses of Câmara de Lobos

People often taste only in Funchal. Some of the oldest names are a short drive west.

The Henriques & Henriques Madeira wine house was founded in 1850 by João Gonçalves Henriques, from a family settled in Câmara de Lobos, and took its name from the partnership of his sons after his death in 1912. It stands at Avenida da Autonomia 10, in Câmara de Lobos, 8.7 km from Funchal, about 14 minutes by road. Basic tastings there are reported to be free, with the older wines at a price.

The full-day wine tour from Funchal ends at another Câmara de Lobos producer, Barbeito, with a tasting of fortified wines, after a day of stops and lunch.

The municipality also holds the parish of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, where the Madeira Wine Festival holds the harvest in the first half of September. Combine a tasting there with the fishing bay and the Cabo Girão skywalk, 17 minutes from Funchal. The Câmara de Lobos guide covers the town.

Lodge tour or day tour

The mistake is to book a full day when an hour in a lodge answers the question. The two suit different visitors.

The lodge tours in Funchal take 30 to 90 minutes and cover how the wine is made and aged, with a tasting at the end: the cooperage, the canteiro rooms where casks age in warm lofts, and the old vats. They suit a first visit and a rainy afternoon.

The full-day Madeira wine tours from Funchal add the island itself: the vineyards, a lunch, and a producer's cellar, with a driver. The full-day tour of eight hours ends with a tasting at Barbeito in Câmara de Lobos. They suit someone who already likes the wine and wants to see where it grows.

For something in between, the food and wine walking tours of Funchal combine the market, a few tastings and the city in three to four hours, and H.M. Borges runs a one-hour guided visit with a tasting in its cellars.

Blandy's

Visitors often walk past the lodge on Avenida Arriaga without realising the tours run all day.

The Blandy's Wine Lodge Madeira visitors tour is at Avenida Arriaga 28, in the centre of Funchal; the family has been in the Madeira wine trade since 1811. It offers four tours:

The Lodge Tour, €17, 30 minutes in English, covers the cooperage, the canteiro ageing rooms, the vine-to-wine exhibition and the satinwood vats, with two samples.

The Premium Tour, €23, 45 minutes, in Portuguese, English, German, French or Spanish, adds the lodge's museum, with three samples, at several times a day.

The Vintage Premium Tour, €59, an hour and a half, opens all the rooms, with five wines including a vintage.

The Private Tour, €150 a person for up to four, an hour, adds the family's private collection and six premium wines.

Children under 6 go free, and those aged 6 to 17 pay €8.40. The tours page has the day's times.

The Premium Tour at Blandy's Lodge includes a visit to the museum with three samples.

Tasting well

People often taste too many wines too fast. A few rules help.

Start dry and finish sweet: a Sercial or a Verdelho first, a Boal or a Malvasia last. With Blandy's Madeira wine, the Premium Tour's three samples cover that range in 45 minutes; the Vintage Premium adds an old vintage.

Remember the strength. Three or five small samples at 17% to 22% are a real amount of alcohol, and the lodges are a walk from each other in the centre: taste at one, then walk, eat, and taste again.

Buy after tasting. The lodges sell their own bottles, and an age of 5, 10 or 15 years on the label has been confirmed by the institute's panel. Pereira d'Oliveira, on Rua dos Ferreiros, is reported to offer free tastings on weekdays in a building dated 1619, so check its hours before you go.

For the styles, grapes and labels in detail, see the wine guide.

Common questions

How much is a tour at Blandy's?

From €17 for the 30-minute Lodge Tour to €59 for the Vintage Premium; the Premium Tour is €23. Children aged 6 to 17 pay €8.40.

Are there free tastings in Funchal?

Pereira d'Oliveira on Rua dos Ferreiros is reported to offer free weekday tastings; the other lodges charge for tours.

Can you visit a winery outside Funchal?

Yes. Henriques & Henriques is in Câmara de Lobos, 14 minutes away, and the full-day wine tour ends with a tasting at a producer there.

What should I taste first?

Start with a dry Sercial or Verdelho and finish with a sweet Boal or Malvasia.