Torna viagem

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Torna viagem describes the long-standing method in Portugal of allowing certain fortified wines , especially those from Madeira and Setúbal , but occasionally also port wines , to mature on a ship voyage to the Portuguese overseas provinces, primarily to Brazil.

Storage of Madeira in a courtyard in Funchal

Sweet wines from Setúbal and Madeira Island were exported in large quantities to Brazil, but also to other Portuguese colonies, such as Angola , Mozambique and Macau . Surprisingly, the quality of the wines, mostly transported in 600 liter barrels, improved significantly during the voyage. This improvement was mainly attributed to the rocking movements of the ships, so that, especially in Madeira, mechanical devices were used that imitated these movements; however, this did not result in an increase in quality. So the method established itself of always loading sailing ships leaving for the colonies with barrels of high-quality wines, which they took with them on the return voyage. Wines that had completed the torna were marketed at high prices as Vinho d roda , whereas wines matured in the warehouses were cheaper and were called Vinho Canteiro .

Wines classified with TVE, the abbreviation for a completed Torna viagem, are still stored in the cellars in Madeira and in some establishments in Setúbal and Porto .

Today we know that it was not the rocking movements of the ships that were responsible for the increase in quality, but the fluctuating temperature conditions during the cruise. Especially the heating plays an important role with the Madeira wines, it creates the typical Madeiran note that benefits these wines. This wine character is now referred to as maderized .

literature

  • Stephen Brook: Liquid Gold. Dessert Wines of the World. Constable, London 1987, ISBN 0-09-466920-1 .
  • Horst Dippel (ed.): The wine lexicon. The wines of the world. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-596-24501-X ( Fischer 4501).
  • F. Paul Pacult: Kindred Spirits. The Spirit Journal Guide to the World's Distilled Spirits and Fortified Wines. Hyperion Books, New York NY 1997, ISBN 0-7868-8172-0 .
  • Roger Voss: Aperitif and dessert wines. 1500 wines from all over the world. Hallwag, Bern et al. 1989, ISBN 3-444-70148-9 .