Madeira - Island of Wine

Series

Series Name

Colour Pictorial

Issue

Issue No.

730

Date Released

19 Dec 1968

Date recorded

21 Nov 1968

Length of issue (in feet)

743

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Madeira - Island of Wine

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

Pathe synopsis: Madeira - sunburnt speck in the Atlantic. Lying off the coast of north-west Africa the island basks in a climate that makes lush tropical growths a round-every-corner sight. But there are pleasures apart from the purely visual. You can ride a sledge in the snow-free tropics and sweep down the toboggan run from the heights of Monte to Madeira’s capital, Funchal. Here you find more unusual and exotic forms of transport: bullock carts give you a sight-seeing seat in the shade, and a free-swinging ride through the palm groves in a hammock is an added luxury that’s hard to resist. Madeira means Island of Wood. But it is also an Island of Wine. Grapes grow in abundance. Everywhere you look there are terraces, hewn from the hillsides like giant steps to the throne of Bacchus. Wine - Madeira’s most famous export - has been produced here for 500 years, and making it is a mix up of ancient and modern. In some places the wine is still trodden barefooted and the grape juice carried to collecting centres by borracheiros - the goatskin carriers. Traditions live on, but modern methods play an increasingly important part. Today most of the grapes are mechanically pressed then, after fermentation, the wine is ready for the estufa, a process unique to Madeira. In the huge estufa tanks the wine is slowly heated and gradually allowed to cool. This system of maturing gives the wine its inimitable flavour. And when the wine is bottled and ready to be shipped across the world, it’s the signal for celebrations. What better way to celebrate than with a few bottles of madeira and the music of fiesta folk dancing?

Keywords

Food and cooking; Agriculture

Written sources

Pathe Colour Pictorial Lobby Cards   Used for synopsis

Credits:

Commentator

Wilfrid Thomas

Length of story (in feet)

683

Story extras:

Film clip

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Name

British Pathe Ltd

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Notes

Pathe now also handles the Reuters Historical Collection, which includes the British Paramount, Empire British, Gaumont Graphic and Gaumont British newsreels.

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