This “Atlantic Garden” seems innocent but is a true culinary perdition!

Bolo do Caco (*) passion fruit punch, banana trees, sugar cane syrup, limpets and Madeira’s wine are all absolutely valid reasons to come here on a wine tourism trip!

But I will start by telling you about the wine cellars in Madeira…

There are mandatory visits such as Blandy’s Wine Lodge cellar – a quintessential Madeira house with cobble stone flooring and dark wood windows set against white walls, a cellar hidden in the basement with a great sample of island wines from over the years.

Barbeito and Henriques & Henriques’s wines should also be part of your itinerary, considering the superb quality of the wines and the history behind them. So should the shop D’Oliveiras, in the centre of Funchal where, beyond tasting the wines produced by this family since 1820, you will also find regional products.

In the northern part of the island, in a town called Seixal, I would recommend a visit to Seixal Wines, the estate to which we owe Terras do Avô wine. With impressive views of the sea and “Bridal Vail” waterfall, the owners are hospitable hosts and will welcome you with a tasting session of their table wines (white and red) along with homemade nibbles served under the family’s home porch.

In Calheta there must also be two stops: Quinta Pedagógica dos Prazeres – a estate, offering educational visits, where home brewed cider is made (and where I had a wonderful cup of mulled cider!) and the factory Engenhos de Calheta, so you can taste a great aguardente (sugar cane based spirit) with honey corn bread.  

To top it all, the great beauty of this garden in the middle of the Atlantic!

(*) Bolo do caco or “Caco cake” is a traditional wheat bread from Madeira island