Frequently Asked Questions

You can take the wine in your hold luggage and we can provide special packaging for this.

However, if you would rather take bottles in your hand luggage you can buy wine at Blandy's Wine Lodge and pick it up from "Portfolio", the shop at Funchal Airport which is located after the security gates.

We are are open every week day as well as Saturday.

Monday to Friday: 10:00 - 18:30
Saturday: 10:00 - 13:00

We are closed on Sundays and Public holidays.

The tour you choose is very much a personal choice, however you should bear in mind:

- Different tours take longer or shorter periods of time.
- Each tour includes tastings of a different Madeira wine.
- The premium tour covers all aspects of Lodge and is our most detailed one.

If you wish we can always arrange a private tour.

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 variations in temperature.

Blandy's Madeira does not require decanting, although this is always a good idea for old Vintages. Use a good cork screw, or if the cork seems fragile use a 'butlers thief' to ease the cork out of the bottle. Wine should be served between 16ºC and 18ºC, depending on the age and style of the wine. More information on how to drink Madeira can be found on the Blandy's website.

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.

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.