Vineyards

Vines were already being grown in Madeira in 1445, for Cadamosto, who visited the island that year, refers to ‘newly planted vineyards, among them Malmsey, brought from Candia’. According to Frutuoso, it was Henry the Navigator who introduced that grape variety to the island, and there is no reason to doubt this statement, even though Zurara, cited by Dr Azevedo, says nothing on the matter. The Italian navigator’s voyage took place before the Chronica da conquista e descobrimento da Guiné was written. Zurara’s ignorance of certain things about the island must therefore be put down either to vine-growing not yet being of great importance, or to his simply not mentioning wines in his work, as he did mention the ‘bread, and sugar, and honey, and wax, and timber’ of the flourishing Portuguese colony.

Dr Azevedo says that it is not only possible but natural that the Acciaioly family, of Florentine origin, brought the Malmsey vine with them when they settled in Madeira; this vine grows in the outskirts of the city of Napoli-di-Malvasia, on the island of Minoa. However, if it is true that Simão Acciaioly, who came here in 1515, was the founder of that family among us, he clearly cannot have introduced the vine to our land, since Cadamosto had already found it here seventy years earlier. It is most likely that the first settlers, on the instructions of Henry the Navigator, brought from Portugal some of the grape varieties grown there, preferring, of course, the most famous. Among these would have been the malvasia candida, originating in Candia and Minoa, which may well have been cultivated at that time in mainland Portugal, where it seems not to exist at present except as a mere curiosity.

Given that vine-growing in Madeira is as old, or almost as old, as the cultivation of sugar cane, and that already in Cadamosto’s time the island’s wines were assai buonissimi, it is strange, says Dr Azevedo, that in the 15th century the whole weight of seigneurial dues and demands fell on sugar, while wines were exempt from any heavy taxes, being subject only to payment of the tithe and of a municipal levy (imposição) established in 1485 ‘for the expenses of the council of the island’.

Dr Azevedo thinks that the unequal treatment given to wines and sugar in early times was a consequence of the low value and poor quality of the former. As is clear from what has been said above, however, this explanation cannot be accepted. It is more likely that the true reason our wines escaped the heavy taxes that burdened sugar in the first years of colonisation was the lack of foreign markets and the little demand for them in Portugal, itself a wine-producing country. To subject Madeiran wines to the same charges as sugar would have ruined viticulture at a time when it did not yet promise to become one of the island’s greatest sources of wealth.

Vine-growing received a certain impetus in the 16th century, when the sugar industry began to decline in Madeira (see Wines), but it was after 1640 that we see it expand more strongly. At that time the English, settling here in greater numbers than before to engage in the wine trade, became the chief promoters of the crop. Frutuoso refers in several places in ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra) to vine-growing in Madeira, but as regards grape varieties he mentions only Malmsey, which seems to have been the variety producing the island’s finest and most celebrated wines in the 16th century.

At the end of the 18th century many vines were planted in Madeira. Some time before, vine-growing had been introduced on Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’), on the land of Areias (‘sands’) and on other coastal ground: men maintained by the State were sent there to carry out the planting, which was done with cuttings supplied by the government.

Vine-growing flourished in Madeira until 1851, but in that year or the next Oidium Tuckery appeared on the island and destroyed the crop almost entirely (see Mangra). Once the disease had been overcome by the use of sulphur, vine-growing prospered here once more, until in 1871 or 1872 a new scourge, phylloxera (see that entry), harder to combat than mangra (powdery mildew of the vine, oidium), came to devastate Madeira’s vineyards.

The introduction of foreign vines, onto which the old varieties of Vitis vinifera were grafted, made it possible to rebuild the island’s vineyards. Our viticulture is at present in a prosperous state, after passing through several crises that slowed its progress or even brought it within two steps of annihilation.

In the archipelago vines occupy an area of 1700 to 2,000 hectares, with an average yield of 6 to 7 pipas of wine per hectare. Ungrafted Madeiran vines are no longer found today, as they were before phylloxera appeared, but almost everywhere many of these vines have been successfully propagated by grafting them onto American vines or onto hybrids produced by crossing those vines with Vitis vinifera. There are also some direct-producer hybrids, such as Jacquez, Herbemont and Cunningham, the first being very common in Madeira.

Before the appearance of mangra (powdery mildew of the vine, oidium) (see that entry), it was the custom, chiefly in the north of the island, to use certain trees as supports for the vines, especially chestnuts (see Balseiras). That method of cultivation has been abandoned, however, and today the vines rest and spread over walkways or trellises made of poles or wicker, when they do not grow more or less flat on the ground (vinhas de pé) or supported by small stakes. The height of the trellises varies between 1.20 m and 3 metres.

European grape varieties are generally pruned by leaving on each arm of the stock a terminal cane with seven, eight and sometimes more buds, and one or more lateral shoots with two or three buds. If the stock or one of its arms is not very vigorous, the number of buds on the terminal cane may be reduced.

The principal grape varieties grown in Madeira, on account of the excellent wines they produce, are malvasia candida, Sercial (white grape variety), Verdelho, Boal and Tinta.

The first of these varieties can be recognised by its leaves, which are hairless on both surfaces and have 5 very deep, usually pointed lobes, and by its large bunches of elliptical or elliptical-globose berries, not very firm, greenish-yellow and finally golden. It is found in some gardens in Funchal, at Fajã dos Padres, in Câmara de Lobos, in Jardim do Mar, in Paul do Mar, etc. It produces the precious Malmsey wine, known for its sweetness and fragrance, and also gives good table grapes, although these are inferior to those of the other varieties on the island.

The second variety, which in Portugal is called sercial, esgana, esgana-cão, esganinho and esganoso, has medium-sized leaves, downy on the underside and almost hairless or pubescent on the upper side, with the three upper lobes clearly marked and the lower ones often merely suggested. Its bunches are usually small or medium-sized, with elliptical, greenish-yellow, sour and late-ripening berries. Its wine, once matured (before 8 to 10 years it is harsh and raw), is very dry and of excellent quality. Sercial is grown mainly at Fajã dos Padres, Ponta do Pargo and Estreito de Câmara de Lobos.

Verdelho, known in some parts of Portugal as gouveio, has medium-sized, rounded, wavy leaves, hairless or almost hairless on the upper surface and more or less downy on the underside, with shallow or merely suggested lobes. Its bunches are small or medium-sized, with very sweet berries, firm or fairly firm, elliptical or oblong, greenish-yellow and generally golden when ripe. Its grapes, somewhat strong in flavour, are very good to eat and produce a dry wine of pleasant taste, regarded as one of the finest in Madeira. Verdelho is grown in Funchal, Câmara de Lobos, Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, Porto Santo, etc.

Boal has medium-sized leaves, downy on the underside and almost hairless or pubescent on the upper side, with the upper lobes clearly marked, sometimes acuminate, and the lower ones usually only faintly suggested. Its bunches are large, dense and strongly winged, with berries that are almost always elliptical, firm, greenish-yellow, golden when ripe and very sweet. It is grown mainly in the municipalities of Funchal and Câmara de Lobos, and produces good table grapes and a highly prized wine.

Tinta can be recognised by its leaves, hairless or almost hairless on the upper surface and downy or cobwebby on the underside, often reddish when mature, with deep upper lobes, and by its small or medium-sized bunches of red-black berries, not very firm and very sweet, with pale or slightly coloured pulp. It is grown mainly in Câmara de Lobos, Estreito, São Martinho and Santo António, and yields excellent wine and good table grapes.

Besides the five varieties briefly described above, many others deserve appreciation, either for their use in winemaking or for the good table grapes they produce. Among the red varieties, the following seem to us worth mentioning: listrão tinto, from Porto Santo, with globose, firm berries; negra mole (tinto molar on Porto Santo), with globose or elliptical-globose berries, often uneven in size; tinta do Porto Santo, similar to negra mole; negro or maroto, with globose, firm berries, now grown only on Porto Santo; castelão, with berries somewhat firmer than those of negra mole, now grown only on the same island; terrantês tinto, with large, oval or subglobose, firm berries; ferral, with large, elliptical or oblong, firm berries and somewhat greenish pulp; and barrete de padre, with large, striped, firm berries. Among the white or violet varieties, the following deserve note: malvasia roxa, which differs from malvasia candida only in having violet or pinkish berries; malvasião or malvasia babosa, with soft and sometimes not very sweet berries, green or golden when ripe; boal do Porto Santo, with soft, ovoid or subglobose berries of the same colour as those of Madeira Boal; cara de moça, with large, firm, globose or elliptical-globose berries, golden or greenish; cachudo, very similar to Boal; terrantês branco, with globose, golden, very sweet berries, almost extinct in Madeira but grown on Porto Santo; muscatel and moscatel do Porto Santo, which differ from each other but both produce fragrant grapes of a special flavour; málaga or alicante branco, with globose, firm, sweet berries, golden when ripe; and the listrão of Madeira and that of Porto Santo, both with globose, firm and very tasty berries.

Isabella, or the American vine, a variety of Vitis labrusca, is widely grown in Madeira, where it was introduced shortly after 1840. V. riparia, known as vinha de silvado, is also common, but is used only as a grafting rootstock. Besides Jacquez, Herbemont and Cunningham (the Madeirans’ canica), which all seem to derive from crossing Vitis aestivalis with V. vinifera, other hybrids were introduced into Madeira after the phylloxera invasion, most of which are now extinct. Jacquez, grown as a direct producer, is also the vine generally preferred for grafting with the old V. vinifera varieties, because of its adaptation to the soils and its vigour and resistance to phylloxera.

The soils best suited to vine-growing are pedra mole ('soft stone': soft yellowish tuff and its soil) and gravel, the latter made up of basaltic particles and the former of red or yellowish tuffs. The hard clay soil known as massapez (heavy ferruginous clay soil) is the least suitable for viticulture.

The vineyards extend from the land near the coast up to 400 or 500 metres, and may even reach 600 and 700 metres in places less affected by mists. Vines are grown in the vicinity of Jardim da Serra (‘upland garden’), but the grapes ripen there much later than in Funchal.

Two articles on Madeiran vines were published in the now-defunct Portugal Agrícola, one written by the agronomist Mr Meneses Pimentel and the other by the present author. The Estudos Ampelograficos of the late João Marques Loureiro (Lisbon 1912) also list and describe in detail some of the most valuable grape varieties of our island. All these works can be consulted with profit by those who wish to acquire a broader knowledge of the subject.

We supplement the information in this article with the valuable material that its author (the distinguished botanist Carlos Azevedo de Meneses) set down in the review Portugal agrícola for April 1902, referred to above, from which some passages deserve to be transcribed:

“

As descriptions of the hybrids and American vines are of no great interest, since these stocks are well known in Portugal, we confine ourselves in the present article to the different forms of Vitis vinifera found in the archipelago, dividing them for this purpose into two large groups: red grape varieties and white or violet grape varieties.

RED GRAPE VARIETIES

Listrão

Leaves large or medium-sized, almost hairless on both faces or irregularly downy underneath; lobes 5, less often 3, nearly always acuminate, sometimes cleft, all of them, or at least the upper ones, well marked or deep; teeth triangular-lanceolate and acute, sometimes very large; petiolar sinus nearly always wide open, lateral sinuses slightly open or closed; bunches 18–30 centimetres long, cylindrical or conical, winged, very dense or somewhat loose; berries 16–20 millimetres, globose and firm, at first a light violet, finally almost black; pulp clear; pedicels reddish at the top. Grown on Porto Santo; it produces much-prized table grapes.

Tinta da Madeira

Leaves medium-sized, the veins and petioles often reddish, hairless on the upper surface or bearing some rather dense hairs near the veins and petiole, downy or cobwebby on the lower surface, the tomentum sometimes very sparse, in which case they appear somewhat glossy; upper lobes deep or well marked, the lower ones nearly always barely outlined; teeth ovate or ovate-triangular, obtuse, rarely subacute; lateral sinuses and petiolar sinus mostly closed because the lobes overlap; bunches winged or not, small or medium-sized (15–25 centimetres), nearly always dense; berries elliptic-globose or oblong, 15–23 millimetres, red, not very firm, very sweet, with clear or faintly coloured pulp. Stock tall and vigorous, of medium thickness; canes greyish-brown or reddish-brown, with short or medium internodes. It differs from the negra mole, with which it is generally confused, in having larger leaves with the sinuses nearly always more closed, and longer, larger berries. It is grown in Câmara de Lobos, in Estreito and in various spots in São Martinho and Santo António. It does not occur on Porto Santo. It yields excellent wine and good table grapes.

Negra mole

Leaves sometimes somewhat concave, generally medium-sized, more or less downy or cobwebby on the lower surface, almost hairless or slightly downy on the upper, sometimes with all the lobes well marked and the upper ones deep and acute or obtuse, at other times with all the lobes merely outlined; teeth ovate or triangular, acute or obtuse; lateral and petiolar sinuses open or closed; bunches small or medium-sized (15–20 centimetres), nearly always very dense, winged or not; berries globose or elliptic-globose, equal or unequal, 12–18 millimetres, soft or not very firm, red, very sweet, with clear pulp. Stock as in the preceding variety; canes light brown or reddish-brown, with short internodes. Mature leaves generally reddish. It differs from the bastardo in its berries, which are sometimes elliptic and always have clear pulp, and in its longer pedicels. It is found in the same places as the preceding variety, but is more abundant; it is also grown on Porto Santo, where it is known as tinta mollar. It yields excellent wine and good table grapes.

Tinta de Lisboa

It differs from the Madeiran tinta in having leaves that are nearly always whiter on the lower surface, and bunches that are usually smaller, with globose berries; and from the negra mole in its generally larger leaves, which are less inclined to turn reddish, and in its sinuses, which are nearly always more closed. It is found in some spots on the outskirts of Funchal; not common. It is little valued for wine; it gives good table grapes.

Bastardo tinto

Leaves medium-sized, downy on the lower face, the hairs sometimes flocculent and very irregularly arranged, hairless or slightly hairy on the upper; lobes shallow or merely outlined; teeth unequal, triangular or ovate-triangular, acute or subacute; petiolar sinus more or less open; bunches generally not exceeding 15 cm, cylindrical, cylindrical-conical or very short and broad, dense, sometimes winged; berries globose, very sweet, nearly equal or very unequal, 12–18 mm, at first somewhat firm, finally soft, red, with clear or faintly violet pulp; pedicels very short. Common on Porto Santo; on Madeira it is grown only in Estreito and Jardim da Serra. It produces good wine and good table grapes.

Tinta do Porto Santo

Leaves large or medium-sized, often reddish when mature; glabrous or subglabrous on the upper surface, somewhat downy or cobwebby on the underside, with 5 clearly marked lobes, acuminate, toothed or incised-toothed, the upper lobes fairly deep; teeth very unequal, triangular or triangular-lanceolate; petiolar sinus open; lateral sinuses open or closed. Bunches generally not exceeding 18 centimetres, cylindrical or cylindrical-conical, sometimes winged; berries globose or elliptical-globose, sweet, the same size as those of the negra mole but firmer, and with pulp that is always violet. – It is a very productive grape variety, and one that is now found only on Porto Santo.