There are many ways to drink the Madeira fortified wine. And there are different flavours, or ages, which make tasting them a vast experience. But this wine can also be drunk in cocktails, a trend that purists do not approve of, but to which the market reacts positively. In addition to classic cocktails, there is a growing trend towards lighter mixes, which produce fresh and light drinks.
Zózimo Castro is a mixologist with many years of experience. He is the ambassador for Blandy's Madeira Wine for the Miles brand, with five-year-old wines that are very well suited to this type of mix. He praises the potential of fortified wine in mixology and gives an example: ‘we can make a spritz with Madeira wine, using tonic water or sparkling water and sparkling wine, very much in the style of Aperol Spritz, but without the Aperol’.
Another example is mixing wine with ginger beer or ginger ale, which results in a Madeira Ale. If it is Madeira wine with tonic water and a twist of citrus, the name becomes Madeira Tonic. In all cases, these mixers guarantee freshness and simplicity and can even have a variable alcohol content, with other drinks such as vodka being added.
In his collaboration with the Miles brand, Zózimo Castro is dedicated to training and raising awareness among bar professionals and other mixologists. He argues that Madeira wine should be used more widely. ‘If we go to New Orleans, Madeira wine is widely used’ in mixes. Zózimo Castro even gives the example of the 1920s cocktail, Boston Flip, which contains Madeira wine, but which ‘is not made in Madeira’.
‘And why isn't it made?’ The mixologist's question was the starting point for his work as an ambassador. And the work involves ‘demystifying’ many ideas, such as that Madeira wine ‘is only for sauces’ or for ‘older people’. It is about introducing youth and versatility, gaining new audiences, in the relaunch of a trend that, although not new, has gone through phases in which it has emerged with varying degrees of vigour.
Zózimo Castro has had a good response from customers and professionals. But he regrets that bar menus do not include these mixes, which are similar to preparing a gin and tonic, only with Madeira wine.
Three- and five-year-old wines can be used for these mixes. Sweet or less sweet, they help to create diversity. The entry-level Madeira ranges offer this diversity of flavours.
But Zózimo Castro does not rule out the versatility of older wines for more elaborate cocktails. He even gives an example, which he learned in New Orleans, of a Negroni that is not made with vermouth, but with Madeira. In addition to the different flavour, there is another advantage: ‘Madeira wine no longer oxidises, whereas vermouth, if not stored in the cold after opening, oxidises’, which can be an advantage for stock management.
Unlike Madeira rum, which is already widely used in cocktails, fortified wine is still little used. But these mixes work for hot days and as an alternative in bars. It is a way for visitors to taste something with a local touch, without being too strange or out of the ordinary.
For some purists, this approach distorts the wine. But for those who make these wines and work with them, it is just a way of creating potential. It all depends on the market response, from the moment ‘the owners of the establishments put them on the menus,’ says Zózimo Castro.
