Marco J.

The most common account of Madeira wine is that it watered down the independence of the United States, which would no longer be a small matter. Some references also include it as a literary note in works such as Shakespeare's "Henry IV" and others call it the "wine of eternity" because of its prolonged period of consumption. And, as a rule, it is "the" Madeira wine that we hear about and that comes from the history books. The story we bring here today is another. She is a little over two years old and only shares with her ancestor the fact that it is a wine that was born by accident. We are talking about Terra Bona, a white wine from Madeira, which won bronze medals in two of the most prestigious wine competitions, the IWC and the Decanter in London, and with a score of 90 points from the famous American critic Robert Parker. All this in a wine that was not included in the projects of Marco Noronha Jardim and Maria Joo Velosa during the purchase of Quinta do Cardo, in Boaventura, Madeira. In fact, wine - or more accurately, the vineyards that existed on farmland were beginning to be a problem. In the direct speech: "This project appears to have found this land and to fall in love with it. Or rather, I fell in love and the first thing I did was call Maria Joo and say, "I've seen fantastic terrain and you have to see that." There is a problem, there are vineyards," explains Marco Noronha Jardim. Five years later, the "problem" became a prized and appreciated wine that changed the course of the farm itself bought for tourism and which was now adapted to serve a vineyard and a winery. The "reform project" of the two bankers has thus become a wine adventure that has only just begun. Let's go back to the very beginning. Once upon a time there was a property in the heart of the Laurissilva Forest, a World Heritage Site, where a 22-year-old abandoned vineyard was planted and for which the new owners did not know what to do. After reflection and discussion, and anxious to make the space a privileged place of agricultural tourism, they decided to ask for help to recover it. And in 2016, they took over the vineyard and produced a wine: "Our idea was to produce bottles of wine for sale as part of the tourism project." They asked for professional help, reclaimed the vineyard and set up a range of "environmentally friendly" and environmentally friendly activities. What does that mean? Basically, "we don't use herbicides" and "the land is three-fourths of a year in organic farming and between April and August there is a set of treatments with plant protection products". As a result, they are 'the first producer with licensed vineyards in integrated production'. But let's not lose sight of the wine. In 2017, Marco and Maria Joo finally have their first wine. Technically, a product of the Arnsburger variety from a cross of the Riesling variety. For the layman, the German Arnsburger grape is very similar to the so-called Rieslings grape, a French Alsatian grape from which very aromatic wines are produced - and already well known all over the world. "We made a wine from what we had, we introduced 10% verdelho into the vineyards of an aunt to Maria Joo," explains Marco, "our idea was that the wine would be drinkable, in all honesty". From drinkable, the white wine of the abandoned vineyard became the darling of friends and people who tasted it. But if in doubt, did they say out of kindness? - Marco and Maria Joo decided to "assess at the highest level" what "everyone said about it". And that's where the London wine competitions and Robert Parker's evaluation come in. We had proof that the wine was good and that "in Madeira, you can make good white wines". At that point, the project changed. The tourist units, which will begin construction between November of this year and January 2020, have been reduced from six to five in order to preserve the existing vineyards as much as possible and the owners of Quinta do Cardo have decided to create a micro-winery for the production of three wines. Distincts, 1500 bottles no more. "Small productions, small batches of other wines in partnership with other producers in the region," they say. During these three years, the two bankers looking for an alternative life project also learned a lot about the vineyard and wine. "We believe that it is possible to produce excellent wines in Madeira and that it is necessary to control grape production," they said. This year, together, they removed all the bad ones from all the bunches. The next day, the harvest began at 5 a.m. to avoid the ripening of the grapes after harvest and before entering the cellar. So, they say, "every grape that enters the cellar is a good grape and it has a brutal impact on the final product". The tourism project has also changed - it will be tourism but linked to the vineyard, named accordingly Terra Bona Nature - Vineyards. But everything will remain small, almost artisanal. "We are committed to having one third of the production for the Lisbon and Porto markets, one third for the regional market and one third for us." Thus was born the Family Harvest "Terra Bona", an unlikely story of a white wine from Madeira. A small vine, a hand-picked grape. "That's the way it is and it won't change," the owners say.