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Janepie33

Port, Maderia, Sherry. What's the difference?

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I am cooking Delia's mushroom risotto on Sunday and the recepie called for dry Maderia. I could only find sweet or medium sweet (at vast expense) so settled on dry sherry instead.

 

Can anyone enlighten me as to the difference between Port, Sherry and Maderia?

 

Thank you

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Legally speaking, Port comes from the Douro valley in Portugal, Sherry comes from the area around Jerez in Portugal and Madeira comes from the Madeira islands. Any drink resembling any one of these cannot legally be called by one of these names unless it comes from the correct area.

 

Constitutionally, though, all three are fortified wines. Port is generally (but not exclusively) made from red wine, whilst Sherry and Madeira are made from white. However, all three use different grape varieties. Tempranillo is probably the best known of the Port grapes (though there are loads of others), Palomino usually for dry sherries and Malvasia (amongst others) for Madeira.

 

Net result is that all three have very different tastes and characteristics to each other, even taking into account the wide variations within each family. Sherry and Madeira are only broadly similar in the way a good Sauternes (French) is similar to a decent Niersteiner (German), and I'd hope there are not too many who'd generalise to the extent of "well, they're both white wine, aren't they?"

 

That said, cooking sherry and similar quality madeira will produce fairly similar results in the kitchen largely because the cooking process will evaporate most of the volatiles that give the drinks their distinguishing features.

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Mmmmmmmmmmm - I love all these drinks, & they are all different,but similar.

 

Port is sort of rich,deep & fruity - it tastes like it looks...dark red.

 

Dry or a dryish medium sherry & Madira are more similar & would give the same sort of results added to a dish.

I don't think you will have any problems substituting Madeira for dry sherry at all :P

 

Let us know how it goes....& enjoy the rest of the Sherry too (I love a small nip when I am preparing supper 8) )

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