Madeira Month

February is
MADEIRA Month
at Terroir 
WHY?
Because MADEIRA is America’s wine. That sounds like fake news!
Well, from the early 1700s, thru roughly 1860, the wine of choice in the Colonies,
and then America, truly was a wine of Portuguese origin,
from a volcanic outcropping in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,
called MADEIRA.
So when / how did this MADEIRA wine rear its head on our shores?
-under 18th Century British law,
all goods bound for British colonies from other European countries,
had to be shipped through a British port or on British ships (hello taxes!).
When George II enacted this decree in 1665, he drew a circle around all of Europe
to indicate the areas subject to this duty
EXCEPT for the Portuguese island of Madeira
(because it is / was closer to Africa than to the Continent).
So, with every sip of MADEIRA the Colonists enjoyed,
they were giving the middle finger to Mother England as it was enjoyed tax free.
-before there was the Boston Tea Party, there was the Colonists’ revolt
over the British seizing of John Hancock’s ship, the Liberty, in 1768.
The boat was filled with MADEIRA
and nothing gets between a Bostonian and his / her MADEIRA.
-Thomas Jefferson was accompanied / inspired by a constantly filled pint of MADEIRA
as he crafted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in June, 1776…
”We hold these truths to be self-evident: MADEIRA is yummy!”
-on July 4th, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed by John Hancock +++
and the union of the 13 colonies and their representatives
toasted their success with MADEIRA.
(apparently, the 56 signatories consumed 57 bottles of MADEIRA wine)
-George Washington celebrated his inauguration
as 1st President of these United States with Madeira
-at the signing of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 in Paris,
the three participating countries (France / Spain / United States),
were toasted with wines from their respective countries:
the French with Champagne /
the Spanish with Malaga /
the United States with MADEIRA.
Please join us as we celebrate MADEIRA and America…
- MADEIRA Ice Luge, crafted in the shape of the island itself
(to honor the 1980 Winter Olympics, of course)
- MADEIRA Flights of Fancy with the Founding Fathers
-sewing an American Flag Class with Betsy Ross and a carafe of MADEIRA
-the Art of the Duel with Alexander Hamilton (and the winner gets a cask of MADEIRA)
We look forward to seeing you throughout the month. 

#makemadeiragreatagain

HERE is a link to the Madeira wines available at Terroir