Floating 650 kilometres from Morocco’s coast in the Atlantic Ocean, the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira has beckoned travellers for centuries, first as a crucial stopover for explorers heading to the New World, now as a culinary paradise where volcanic soil, bountiful waters and 600 years of winemaking tradition converge in spectacular fashion.
Madeira has long been synonymous with the fortified wine produced there using a unique canteiro ageing process, where wines slowly mature in wooden casks under the island’s subtropical sun, creating complex and distinctive flavours that continue to delight oenophiles. It was so popular in colonial America that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the Founding Fathers drank a toast to the signing of the Declaration of Independence with the island’s famous libation.
The family that has been most prominent in the development of Madeira wine are the Blandys. Originally from England, the Blandys are the only founders of the island’s winemaking industry who still own and manage their own wine company, a tradition that goes back to 1811. Members of the family continue to live on the island, including Michael and Chris Blandy, who are the sixth and seventh generations to work in the business. Visitors from around the world flock to the Blandy Wine Lodge, which is housed in a former seventeenth-century convent in downtown Funchal, the island’s capital and largest city.
They come there to learn about Blandy’s unique winemaking process, sample some of their vintages and purchase bottles to take home. The tour takes you through their cellars, where you can smell the sweet aroma of ageing wine filling countless wooden barrels. A friendly guide explains the steps taken to fortify the wine, then leads you through a tidy museum that explains the company’s rich history, which is closely intertwined with that of the Blandy family and Madeira itself.
The lodge is just steps from the waterfront, from which you can look up to admire a galaxy of red-tiled houses nestled on garden-covered terraces on steep slopes surrounding the city like a natural amphitheatre. Nearby, there is a cable car that whisks passengers to Monte, a small town perched 550 metres above. It’s where visitors go to indulge in one of Madeira’s most famous experiences, a thrilling two-kilometre ride down steep streets in a wicker toboggan. Carreiros, decked out in all-white clothing and straw hats, use the thick rubber soles of their boots as brakes as they guide you down the route. While the toboggan ride is an activity that today is purely for tourists, it has its roots in a real mode of transportation where goods and people were shuttled down the steep terrain using the power of gravity.
While you might be tempted to take the cable car up to enjoy the toboggans after a visit to the wine lodge, be warned that the lines for both can get long, especially if there are any cruise ships in port. Locals recommend taking a taxi up to Monte to take the toboggan ride first thing in the morning, then take a taxi back up to the cable car station and ride it down to Funchal. You’ll be travelling in the opposite direction of everyone else, which means less time in line and more time to explore other parts of Funchal, like its many fine gardens which are made spectacular by the island’s rich volcanic soil.
One of those gardens is located near the starting point for the toboggan ride, the wonderful Jardim Monte Palace, where you can breathe in the sweet perfume of exotic flowers while admiring sculptures sprinkled throughout the verdant displays. On the cable car ride, you’ll also spot the botanical gardens set in the Quinta Jardins do Lago, which its admirers claim to be the finest garden on the island. Others argue that the title belongs to the Palheiro Gardens, which are part of the Blandy family estate. It’s where you’ll find the family’s principal residence, a historic manor house that overlooks the gardens, which are open to the public to enjoy. First planted in 1804, the gardens feature towering tree ferns from New Zealand mingling with indigenous laurel trees, while exotic orchids and proteas from South Africa and other flowers add splashes of colour no matter what time of year you visit.
Adjacent to the garden sits Casa Velha do Palheiro, a five-star Relais & Châteaux property that was built as a nineteenth-century hunting lodge by Portuguese nobleman João José Xavier, the first Count of Carvalhal. The historic building was restored in 1997 to begin its new life as a hotel. Guests come to explore the 150 hectares of the surrounding Palheiro Nature Estate, relax in its outstanding spa or play the neighbouring 72-par Palheiro golf course which enjoys incredible clifftop views of the ocean overlooking nearby Funchal.
The hotel and golf club house feature a variety of highly regarded dining experiences, but we only had time to stop for lunch at the estate’s crown jewel, the Michelin-recommended Oxalis Restaurant. With his dedication to local flavours and traditional Madeiran cuisine, Chef Gonçalo Bita Bota creates masterpieces using ingredients harvested from the island, which means everything is market fresh and the menu changes daily. On an island, fish and seafood are plentiful, so expect dishes using the bounty of nearby waters, including Maderian specialities like black scabbardfish. If your tastes run to things harvested from land, you might get local quail or espetada, tender beef traditionally grilled on laurel skewers. Of course, everything is paired with excellent wines, including many of Blandy’s finest vintages.
The Casa is not the only accommodation in the Blandy portfolio. The family also operates a selection of four- and five-star hotels along with luxury villas in some of the island’s most scenic locations under the Porto Bay Group banner. The Residence, The Cliff Bay, Portobay Santa Maria and Suite Hotel Edan Mar are just a few of the fine hotels you might consider for your stay.
And you will want to explore the island beyond Funchal. The rocky coastal scenery is beyond magnificent and while you could rent a car to discover the island on your own, booking a jeep tour with someone who can navigate the island’s winding roads is definitely recommended.
A great way to experience the island and appreciate its agricultural abundance is to walk along the many signed trails that follow Madeira’s countless lavadas, irrigation channels that have carried mountain spring water to farmers’ crops for over 500 years. These narrow waterways, carved by hand through seemingly impossible terrain, reflect the islanders’ ingenuity in creating a thriving life on a volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic.
Another symbol of the island’s fertility that you’ll want to visit is the island’s UNESCO World Heritage Laurisilva forest. Covering nearly 20 percent of Madeira’s surface, this forest is all that remains of the ancient laurel forests that once blanketed much of Southern Europe and North Africa tens of millions of years ago. Thanks to Madeira’s mild and humid climate, the forest continues to thrive in this isolated location and remains a habitat for many unique species. Because of its elevation, clouds often collide with the ground, leaving the forest shrouded in mist, giving it a spooky and mysterious atmosphere.
No matter what you’re into, Madeira has something for every type of traveller, but no matter how you enjoy the island, it won’t be long before you discover that everything here is about place, history and the special alchemy that occurs when passionate people work in harmony with the extraordinary landscape surrounding them.
