Madeira and Marsala · Explainer
Which grapes are used in Madeira?
Madeira has four classic white grapes that each determine a level of sweetness: Sercial dry, Verdelho medium dry, Boal medium sweet and Malvasia sweet. There is also the rare Terrantez. The black grape Tinta Negra, at around 85 percent of production, is by far the most widely used and delivers all four styles. If a grape name appears on the label, you immediately know how sweet the wine is.
In brief
The key figures
| Sercial | Dry, light-bodied, high acidity |
|---|---|
| Verdelho | Medium dry |
| Boal (Bual) | Medium sweet |
| Malvasia (Malmsey) | Sweet, the darkest of the four |
| Terrantez | Rare, between the dry and the sweet styles |
| Tinta Negra | Black grape, about 85 percent of production |
| Without a grape name | Designation dry, medium dry, medium rich or rich |
Which four grapes determine the style of madeira?
Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia are the four classic white grapes of madeira, and each belongs to a fixed sweetness level.
Sercial gives the driest madeira, light in body and with high acidity. Verdelho stands for medium dry. Boal, also written as Bual, stands for medium sweet. Malvasia, in English Malmsey, gives the sweetest and darkest style.
If one of those four names is on the label, you immediately know how sweet the wine is. With few kinds of wine can the taste be read so directly from the label.
How much madeira is made from Tinta Negra?
With about 85 percent of production, Tinta Negra is by far the most widely used grape on Madeira.
It is a blue grape that can deliver all four sweetness styles, from dry to sweet. That makes Tinta Negra the basis of most of the madeira in the shop, even when no grape name is on the label.
If no grape is on the bottle but there is a designation such as dry, medium dry, medium rich or rich, it is usually Tinta Negra.
What is Terrantez?
Terrantez is a fifth, rare white grape of Madeira that sits between Verdelho and Boal in terms of sweetness.
The grape is planted only on a small scale. Bottles with Terrantez on the label are therefore scarce, and you will mostly come across them as old vintage wine.
For those who want to get to know madeira grape by grape, Sercial, Verdelho, Boal and Malvasia are the starting point. Terrantez is the next step.
How do you read the sweetness of a bottle of Madeira?
You read sweetness from the grape name, or from a designation such as dry, medium dry, medium rich or rich on the label.
Sercial corresponds to dry, Verdelho to medium dry, Boal to medium rich and Malvasia to rich. A bottle with a grape name therefore also carries a sweetness indication.
Bij madeira van Tinta Negra ontbreekt de druivennaam vaak en is de aanduiding het enige houvast. Kijk dan naar dry, medium dry, medium rich of rich. NIX18: alcohol wordt niet verkocht aan mensen onder de achttien.
What does Malmsey mean on a bottle of Madeira?
Malmsey is the English name for Malvasia, the sweetest and darkest of the four classic madeira grapes.
The name comes from the English trade in madeira. Many houses therefore put the English names on the label: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual and Malmsey, alongside or instead of the Portuguese spelling.
If you see Malmsey on the label, you are holding a sweet Madeira. It goes well with a dessert, with nuts or with blue cheese.
From the shop in Bathmen
Which Madeiras can you line up side by side in Bathmen?
In the shop in Bathmen there are 9 madeiras from 3 different brands. Prices range from € 4.99 to € 299.99. The alcohol percentage ranges from 17% to 19%.
- Cossart Gordon 10 Years Old Malmsey Madeira 19% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Cossart Gordon 10 Years Old Verdelho Madeira 19% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Cossart Gordon 5 Years Old Sercial Madeira 19% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Cossart Gordon 5 Years Old Verdelho Madeira 19% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Cuisine Keukenflesje Kook-Madeira 18% · 10 cl · Portugal
- Kopke Madeira Sercial Vintage 1940 19% · 70 cl · Portugal
- MADEIRA VAT 22 Full Rich 17.5% · 75 cl · Portugal
- WELSH BROTHERS Madeira Medium Dry 17% · 75 cl · Portugal
- Welsh Brothers Madeira Medium Dry halfje 17% · 37 cl · Portugal
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Related questions
How long does Marsala keep once opened?What can you use to replace marsala or madeira in a recipe?Why is madeira heated?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- What is the difference between Boal and Bual?
- Nothing. Boal is the Portuguese spelling and Bual the English one. It is the same grape and the same medium-sweet style.
- Which Madeira grape is the driest?
- Sercial. It gives the driest and most acidic style of the four classic grapes.
- Is the grape always on the label?
- No. For madeira made from Tinta Negra, there is often only a sweetness designation such as dry, medium dry, medium rich or rich.
- Is Madeira's Malvasia the same grape as Malvasia from Italy?
- The name Malvasia is used in several countries for related but different grapes. On Madeira, Malvasia stands for the sweetest style.
The reasoning
Sources
- Madeira Wine, the production process, Justino's Madeira Wines (accessed 2026-09-06)
- What is Madeira Wine?, Madeira Wine Company (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Vinho Madeira, Instituto do Vinho, do Bordado e do Artesanato da Madeira (IVBAM) (accessed 2026-09-06)
- Vinho Madeira, portaal van de Madeirawijn, IVBAM (accessed 2026-09-06)
This page was written and checked by ’t Bockje Bathmen, wine and spirits shop at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Last updated on 7 September 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.