Even some of our loyal repeat guests do not realize that our Fortification Tour(s) encompass four distinctive themes, which we have rotated over the past dozen years. These include different regions and areas where Portuguese specialists are creating many of the greatest dessert wines, or to be more specific – greatest fortified wines in the world. Arguably, there are a handful of other countries that do make world-class dessert wines (Sherry, Sauternes, Muscats), but none have the depth or breadth of “fortified wines” to compare with Portugal’s singular diversity in this way. None!

Our rotating Fortification Tour lineup includes:

• Porto/Gaia/Douro plus Madeira = Port and Madeira wine combo – the “original”
• Setubal and Madeira = the legendary Moscatel de Setubal; followed by the island of Madeira
• Carcavelos/Setubal and Madeira = our itinerary features Portugal’s 3 fortified wine regions
• Madeirathon – a full-week immersion/vacation visiting all remaining producers on the island

In 2020, we will offer 2 identical MADEIRATHON Tours for the first time. These sell out quicky with Madeira enthusiasts snapping up spots on the tours, so don’t wait!

Having just celebrated its 600th anniversary in September 2019, there is not only a lot of history to discover on Madeira, but the topography and developed agriculture, embroidery, arts and crafts make for fascinating side trips, as our guests often times stay on afterwards to encounter things we have introduced them to, but have not experienced in great depth. Obviously, we remain focused on the Madeira’s wine and food; and there is never a shortage of either. Nonetheless, we present our groups to many of the other extremely fun sites and activities around the island!

Madeira, an archipelago, is a big part of our Fortification Tours, and in 2020 our guests will get to visit all of the remaining historic producers on the island during our seven day/eight night exploration known as Madeirathon. We include plenty of diversions in between wine visits. The island is blessed with a sub-tropical climate, offering steady temperatures and typically lots of sunny days – without the heat found in the Douro, for example. It is spectacular in its forested beauty, with flowers, bananas, figs, grapes, apples, cherries, plums and sugar cane … all found in abundance. Volcanic by nature, the soil types can vary, but just about anything can and does grow fairly easily in the basalt-based soils.

Madeirathon is a rarity, which will only take place for the third time in our history. It is very possible this will be the last Madeirathon, as some dynamics on the island are changing. The rare and ancient Madeiras are disappearing from the island at a pace that the producers saw coming for years. A couple of new companies have thrown their hat into the ring (with venerable producers) creating new niches to deal with market realities. Prices for the islands’ gems are increasing at a painful rate for collectors seeking the last vestiges of a bargain from the remaining producers, as well as retailers, importers and auction houses across the globe.

There are still some great buys to be found on occasion and that has brought many enthusiasts to the island over the past decade. We offer our clients reason to be optimistic and provide access to some bottlings that are rarely found elsewhere. There are new categories of Madeira and NOT all of the great bottlings have to be nearly extinct in order to be vastly enjoyed. We offer the best of what’s left on the island. Simultaneously, one of the newest advances are from table wine producers which are ratcheting up quality as quickly as possible. Slowly, these wines mostly from white grapes are improving as site and clonal selection become better understood.

Restaurants are plentiful and run the gamut, specializing in fish, seafood and all types of meat from chicken to high quality beef and pork, to more exotic meats too. And then there is the bread, which is exceptional. Trust us. We spend a lot of time doing research and exploring new and up and coming restaurants to introduce to our guests on tour. We rotate a dozen or so that we favor, and always bring guests to a few newly discovered dining destinations to wow them!
Little known fact: The Island of Madeira has the largest number of five-star resort hotels in the world … per capita!