If I buy wine at the Wine Lodge can I take it on the plane?
Despite hand luggage restrictions on carrying liquids when flying, we have the perfect solution which allows you to take your Madeira wine home without trouble! Blandy’s Wine Lodge has a partnership with “Portfolio” shop at Madeira Airport, which is located just after the main Duty Free Shop. Here you can collect your bottles, previously purchased from our Wine Lodge in Funchal, and carry them on board as hand luggage.
“Portfolio” opening hours: Mon-Sun | 5:30 am – 9:30 pm
Alternatively, you can put wine bottles in your hold luggage and we can provide special packaging for it.
Are you open every day?
We are are open every week day as well as Saturday.
Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 18:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 13:00
We are closed on Sundays and Public holidays.
Which tour do you recommend?
The tour you choose is very much a personal choice, however you should bear in mind:
– All tours are supported with different levels of detail and take different amounts of time to complete;
– Madeira wine tastings included in the visit differ depending on the tour;
– Premium and Vintage tours do not repeat information and are designed to be taken together, first – Premium, then – Vintage.
If you wish we can always arrange a private tour.
How should I store Madeira Wine?
Bottles of Madeira wine should be stored in an upright position. The main reason for this is that the wine can “outlive” the cork, as Madeira wine can last for hundreds of years. Bottles should be kept out of direct sunlight, in a location without great variation of temperature.
How should I serve Madeira Wine?
Chill. We suggest that dry and medium dry styles be served at 12°C and medium rich and rich styles be served at 16°C.
Aerate. We recommend opening a bottle of Madeira a few hours before serving. Follow the advice of our winemaker and open Madeira in the morning if you plan to drink in the evening, or open in the evening if you plan to drink it in the morning.
Use the right glass. Madeira wine should be enjoyed using a typical port glass.
Decant. Most Madeira wines do not normally require decanting. However, if the wine was bottled more than 5 years ago it is likely that it might have developed sediment. In this case, decant your bottle using preferred filtering equipment.
How old is my bottle of Madeira?
Madeira stops ageing once it is bottled. The complex characteristics of madeira wine is the result of ageing in oak casks under special conditions. The age of the wine is equal to the number of years it spent ageing in barrel.
What is the value of my bottle of Madeira?
The value of a bottle of Madeira depends on a variety of factors:
– The quality and style of the wine, whether its a blend or a Vintage;
– Particularly rare wines can be valuable to collectors.