The Barbeito company was founded in 1946 by Mario Barbeito on the island of Madeira. At the time, he focused on vintage wines on the one hand (as a financial cushion), but also produced simple Madeira wines. Since the mid-1990s, Ricardo Freitas Diogo has been running the business in the third generation. Today, the Barbeito company distinguishes itself from the competition, among other things, by almost completely refraining from adding caramel as a color and flavor enhancer.

Last week I drank a glass of very good Madeira from a bottle that my grandfather had opened 25 years ago.
Ricardo Diego Freitas, Barbeito Chief

This is how the originality of Madeira is preserved, this very special delicacy that can hardly be compared with seemingly related dessert wines such as Port and continental Sherry. Madeira is particularly suitable as an aperitif. Similar to Port wine, the fermentation of Madeira wine is also stopped by adding high-proof brandy. As a result, not all the sugar ferments, and the wine retains a corresponding sweetness. Another trademark is the pronounced acidity, which generally results from the base wines (volcanic soils with low pH) and especially with Barbeito due to the purchase of the grapes shortly before their usual ripeness. The alcohol content is between 17 and 22 percent. The peculiarity of Madeira wine is a five- to eight-month aging period at an elevated temperature of up to 75 degrees Celsius. This used to take place in wooden barrels in the heat under a corrugated iron roof, but today it is mostly done artificially in a heated tank. As a result, Madeira wine is extremely long-lasting, and even an opened bottle can remain open for months without the wine going bad. Madeira wine is essentially made from five white grape varieties: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Terrantez, and Malmsey (Malvasia). In the red category, Tinta Negra Mole is also added.
On the island, there is a clear separation between cultivation and processing: The producers receive the grapes from the hundreds of small farmers on the island, whose plots are rarely larger than a typical backyard. In any case, the island offers little suitable land for cultivation, which is then planted with either grapes, bananas, or sugar cane.
The typical grape varieties of the island are the white Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Terrantez, and Malmsey (Malvasia), as well as the red Tinta Negra Mole.

Manufacturer: Vinhos Barbeito, Estrada da Ribeira Garcia, Parque Empresarial de Câmara de Lobos, Lote 8, 9300-324 Câmara de Lobos, Portugal

Grape variety: Malvasia
Wine region: Madeira (Sao Jorge)
Alcohol: 19.65% vol.
Acidity: 1.9
Total sugar: 73.4 g/l
Volatile acidity: 0.72
pH level: 3.36