Wine Drinkers!!

[Cremator]

My mom recently took a trip to Spain. She brought back some Medera (spelled wrong I'm sure) wine. It was made by a company called Blandy?? It was some good stuff. It was kind of like sipping whiskey but with a hint of wine.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions about my man hood let it be known that I can put down the beer with the best of em.

A question I have is has anyone had this type of wine? If so is there an equal comparison out there that can be found in the states? It was probably one of the best sipping style adult beverages ive ever experienced and short of going to Spain would love to find an equal or something close to it. My wife said it was like a Sherry. Any ideas?

[Brooke]

You can probably get Madeira in US stores.  You can certainly buy it online.  It is a fortified wine, like port.  Like with port, Madeira comes in a lot of varieties from dry to sweet.

[Shamus]

We used to consume vast quantities of this magic elixir in high school, it's fortified.

  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mad+Dog+20%2F20

[Bizman]

Yep, you've spelled it wrong. It's called Madeira after the island it originates from. http://www.blandy.com/ gives lots of information. Your wife is right that it's like Sherry, as both are fortified wines. Port and Marsala belong to that category, too. Back in the time of sailing ships, regular wine wouldn't have survived the long trips in perfect condition, so they added some spirit to it as preservative. And yes, you can get both the original stuff and copies over there: http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/madeira

[Cremator]

Perfecto!! I love my state and am proud to be from it but our liquor stores have a large quantitys of 30 packs and malt liquor and seem to lack in other areas. If I'm unable to have Madeira wine shipped is there any particular brand that will be of close taste that i can find local?  We've tried to get wine from Hawaii and California shipped to Arkansas but they wont ship for some reason.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Sherry and port wine is great and it gives you gout. Which means it must be good  

[Cremator]

I went up the way to a store with a decent wine selection. I found something close.  Stuffs good too!!!

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I went up the way to a store with a decent wine selection. I found something close.  Stuffs good too!!!

Try old aged port. Very nice to drink with tiramisu or other sweet desert.

[Cremator]

Try old aged port. Very nice to drink with tiramisu or other sweet desert.

I saw some port and almost picked it up. Ill give it a whirl next time I go for a bottle.

[Oldman731]

Try old aged port. Very nice to drink with tiramisu or other sweet desert.

Yes.  But remember:  Do not drink a lot of very old aged port.

- oldman (or even the not-so-very-old...)

[Randy1]

I make kind of a port myself using Muscadines.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I make kind of a port myself using Muscadines.

Muscat is very nice too in small amounts. It's an unique combination of freshness but yet honey sweetness. Nice dessert drink with a fat Cohiba cigar. One of my Greek relatives is a real connoisseur and whenever we spend the cool mediterranean evenings we sample all sorts of wines (he works at the largest local wine producer coincidentally) and a selection of fine Cuban cigars.

[JimmyC]

Maderia wine I heard was a fluke invention
A boat load of port or sherry or maybe just wine ( I cant recall which) was shipped from spain to hongkong
It sat in port in HK for a long period of time...its hot there..
There was a dispute on tax or who owned it or purchaser went bust or something...
So they shipped the cargo home to spain...
When it returned after a long voyage they thought they should chk it out before binning it
Apparently it tasted divine...
And a new adult beverage was born....

port is fantastic...esp after dinner with cheese...blue cheese..stilton
I was given £50 as a christening present when I was born in the late sixties..
my dad bought 4 cases of port for me...48 bottles
£1 A BOTTLE!
30 Years later it had matured...probably better than me..
and I started to drink it
Awesome stuff
I sold 2 cases.. £120 a bottle x 24
And reinvested in claret.and port...another laydown longterm ..20 yr..investment wine
I drank the other 24 bottles with friends and family at special moments....
it was nice..no it was sublime..

another interesting fact...
Congac..
when they where making it way back when...1600 1700s
The monks would barrel it up and put it in to storage...
when they came to open the barrels a year or two later..loads had disappeared. ...
but the seals where all intact
they surmised that as the drink was so good the angel came down and had some...so the 25% missing was always called the angels share
Lovely
Now we know about spirt evaporation ...but I like their conclusion better..

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Maderia wine I heard was a fluke invention
A boat load of port or sherry or maybe just wine ( I cant recall which) was shipped from spain to hongkong
It sat in port in HK for a long period of time...its hot there..
There was a dispute on tax or who owned it or purchaser went bust or something...
So they shipped the cargo home to spain...
When it returned after a long voyage they thought they should chk it out before binning it
Apparently it tasted divine...
And a new adult beverage was born....

port is fantastic...esp after dinner with cheese...blue cheese..stilton
I was given £50 as a christening present when I was born in the late sixties..
my dad bought 4 cases of port for me...48 bottles
£1 A BOTTLE!
30 Years later it had matured...probably better than me..
and I started to drink it
Awesome stuff
I sold 2 cases.. £120 a bottle x 24
And reinvested in claret.and port...another laydown longterm ..20 yr..investment wine
I drank the other 24 bottles with friends and family at special moments....
it was nice..no it was sublime..

another interesting fact...
Congac..
when they where making it way back when...1600 1700s
The monks would barrel it up and put it in to storage...
when they came to open the barrels a year or two later..loads had disappeared. ...
but the seals where all intact
they surmised that as the drink was so good the angel came down and had some...so the 25% missing was always called the angels share
Lovely
Now we know about spirt evaporation ...but I like their conclusion better..

If you like whisky you should see the movie 'Angels share'

[danny76]

Best Cognac I have ever had was Hine, which was astonishingly good, and cripplingly extortionate, Remy Martin XO is pretty damn good too, I once knew a Hooray Henry Army officer that would put Coke in Remy XO