Madeira Vintners is one of the newest names in Madeira wine, created to deliver classic styles with a deliberately contemporary feel: clear fruit, bright acidity, and a sense of balance that works well even in younger bottlings.
It is a project of CAF (Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal, the Funchal Agricultural Cooperative), an established agricultural cooperative with decades of experience supporting farmers through the supply of professional products and technical assistance. Madeira Vintners builds on that practical, grower-facing foundation by focusing on selection, control, and careful maturation of fortified wine.
For visitors looking for Madeira wine in Funchal beyond the most famous historic lodges, Madeira Vintners is a particularly interesting stop: a women-led project, an intentional lower-alcohol positioning for part of the range, and clearly documented examples of traditional canteiro ageing in wood for wines such as Boal 5 years, Malvasia 10 years, and a 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita.
In a Nutshell
- Producer: Madeira Vintners
- Project of: CAF (Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal / Funchal Agricultural Cooperative)
- Started producing: First harvest in 2012 (brand created and registered the following year; first wines reached market in 2016)
- Style focus: Fresh, balanced Madeira wine with an explicitly lower-alcohol positioning (around 17% ABV for part of the range)
- Ageing methods: Traditional canteiro ageing in wooden casks is explicitly documented for several wines (including 5-year, 10-year, and Colheita bottlings)
- Where to start: 3-year wines in the classic sweetness ladder, then step up to 5-year styles, then explore Boal 5 years, 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita, and Malvasia 10 years
- Address: Caminho de São Martinho, 56, 9000-273 Funchal
- Visits & tastings: Guided visits and tastings are offered; booking is handled via the official form
- Official page (visits, contact, range notes): cafmadeira.pt/madeira-vintners/
- Online shop: madeira-vintners.lojasonlinectt.pt
What’s on this page
1. Origin Story of Madeira Vintners
7. Related Madeira Wine Producers
8. FAQs About Madeira Vintners
1. Origin Story of Madeira Vintners
Madeira Vintners began with its first harvest in 2012. The brand was created and registered the following year, with the first wines reaching the market in 2016. That timeline is worth pausing on: Madeira wine is defined by maturation, so even a “new” producer typically needs several years before the first bottlings make sense commercially and stylistically.
Crucially, Madeira Vintners is not a standalone spin-off chasing novelty for its own sake. It is a project of CAF (Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal), the Funchal Agricultural Cooperative. CAF’s roots are agricultural rather than purely wine-trade: it has spent decades working in supply and support for farming, providing professional products and technical assistance across multiple locations. Madeira Vintners takes that practical, cooperative ecosystem and applies it to the realities of Madeira wine production: grape follow-up, technical guidance, control and selection, production, and commercialisation.
If you’d like a broader framework for how Madeira wine evolved (and why time matters so much), the best starting points are History of Madeira Wine and Madeira winemaking. Madeira Vintners is best understood within that bigger story: a modern project working inside a traditional category.
Madeira Vintners timeline highlights
- 1951: CAF is created to support local farmers.
- 2012: First harvest for Madeira Vintners.
- 2013: The Madeira Vintners brand is created and registered.
- 2016: Wines begin being marketed publicly.
- 2018: First 5-year-old wines are released (including 5-year Malvasia).
2. Ownership & Evolution
Because Madeira Vintners is explicitly a project of CAF, the most accurate way to describe its evolution is through development milestones rather than a speculative ownership narrative.
The first milestone is simply emerging as a new Madeira wine producer in a category where new entrants are uncommon. A second milestone is time: starting with younger wines, then moving into older categories as stocks mature. In practical terms, Madeira Vintners has expanded from early-release styles into widely recognised benchmarks of complexity and ageing, including canteiro-aged wines at 5 years and beyond, a 2012 Colheita, and a 10-year Malvasia.
A third strand of evolution is identity. Madeira Vintners is presented publicly as a women-led team across the full chain, from grower follow-up and technical inputs through selection, production, and sale. In a region where brand stories are often anchored in long-established houses, Madeira Vintners has built a distinct profile around team structure, clarity of style, and approachability.
3. Production & Winemaking
Madeira wine is built on a set of decisions that are unusually explicit compared with most wine styles: when fermentation is stopped (which largely sets sweetness), how the wine is heated and matured, and how long it spends ageing before bottling. If you want the clearest overview of the two core maturation pathways, start with Madeira winemaking.
Madeira Vintners produces wines across the recognised sweetness spectrum, from Seco through Meio Seco, Meio Doce, and Doce. What stands out is how the producer describes its intent for these styles: even at younger ages, the notes consistently emphasise balance, good acidity, and a long finish.
On maturation, Madeira Vintners is unusually direct in documenting canteiro ageing. Several wines are described as matured in wooden casks through the canteiro process, with oxidative development encouraged by warmer conditions in upper levels of ageing lodges. This is documented not just for age-statement wines, but also for specific 5-year styles and single-harvest bottlings.
Grape-wise, the public range shows both the backbone variety Tinta Negra and classic named styles such as Boal and Malvasia. The producer also releases wines that highlight variety and site in more pointed ways, including a mid-sweet reserve combining Verdelho and Terrantez, described as sourced from a single vineyard in Canhas.
Finally, Madeira Vintners has articulated a modern positioning around a lower-alcohol approach (around 17% ABV for part of the range). In practical tasting terms, that positioning pairs naturally with the producer’s repeated emphasis on freshness and balance: wines that feel unmistakably like Madeira wine, but aimed at being easy to enjoy without waiting decades.
4. Wines to Know
The easiest way to navigate Madeira Vintners is by age tier (3-year vs 5-year vs older) and then by style (sweetness category or named grape style). The notes below focus on wines and categories that are clearly documented in the producer’s own materials.
Three-year range: the classic sweetness ladder
Madeira Vintners bottles a 3-year range in the classic sweetness steps: Seco, Meio Seco, Meio Doce, and Doce. These are the most straightforward introduction to the house style: bright, balanced, and acidity-driven, with aromatics described in terms such as citrus peel, honeyed tones, dried fruits, and spice.
If you want a practical tasting approach, try the 3-year wines side by side. Because sweetness is such a defining part of Madeira wine, this comparison helps you find your preference quickly before you invest in older bottles.
Five-year range: more depth, still approachable
Madeira Vintners also bottles 5-year wines in the same sweetness ladder (Seco through Doce). At this tier, the wines are described with more structure and a more layered profile, while still aligning with the producer’s overall emphasis on balance and drinkability.
Boal 5 years
Boal is naturally associated with a medium-sweet style, and Madeira Vintners’ 5-year Boal comes with unusually specific detail: grapes are described as hand-harvested in Calheta and Câmara de Lobos, then aged in cask through canteiro for five years. The producer also gives a practical serving suggestion: enjoy it with desserts or as a digestif, including over ice, and notes a stated 17.5% vol.
Malvasia 5 years
Malvasia (often associated with richer, sweeter Madeira styles) is represented at 5 years with a clearly traditional maturation description. The producer notes hand-harvested grapes from São Jorge (with altitude stated around 150–200 metres) and describes canteiro ageing in wooden casks for five years, developing complexity through oxidative maturation.
Tinta Negra 2012 Colheita
If you want a single bottle that shows what time-in-cask does to Madeira Vintners’ style, the 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita is one of the clearest examples in the publicly documented range. It is described as a mid-sweet Madeira with amber colour, nutty and lightly woody aromas, and palate notes that include raisins, dried fruit, caramel, vanilla, and coffee. It is also described as aged in wooden casks for eight years via canteiro, with oxidative development in warmer lodge conditions.
Malvasia 10 years
The age-statement wine that most clearly represents Madeira Vintners’ maturation ambition is Malvasia 10 years. The producer describes hand-harvested grapes from São Jorge (again citing around 150–200 metres altitude), and explicit canteiro ageing in wooden casks for ten years. The style is described with dark amber colour, honey-and-dried-fruit aromatics, good acidity, and a long finish.
If you want to see the producer’s own product detail page for one clearly documented bottle, the online shop listing for Malvasia 10 years is a useful reference point. Malvasia 10 years (product page)
Verdelho + Terrantez 5 years Reserve
For readers interested in variety and site expression, Madeira Vintners also documents a 5-year mid-sweet reserve made from Verdelho and Terrantez. It is described as sourced from manually harvested grapes in a single vineyard in Canhas (Ponta do Sol) at around 420 metres altitude, made via a careful, traditional canteiro pathway, with a balanced palate, integrated sweetness, lively acidity, and a persistent finish.
5. Visiting Madeira Vintners
Madeira Vintners offers guided visits and wine tastings. Bookings are handled through the form on the official producer page, and that page also acts as the most reliable hub for up-to-date visitor information.
Practical details: the producer’s stated address is Caminho de São Martinho, 56, 9000-273 Funchal, and the public contact phone number used for Madeira Vintners enquiries is +351 291 702 440.
If you’re planning a broader trip across the region, it’s worth reviewing History of Madeira Wine beforehand so the tasting experience makes more sense in context, and Madeira winemaking if you want to connect what you taste back to maturation choices.
6. Interesting Facts
- A rare “new entrant”: Madeira Vintners began with a first harvest in 2012 and released its first wines to market in 2016, which is unusually recent by Madeira wine standards.
- Roots in a cooperative: Madeira Vintners is a project of CAF (Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal), an agricultural cooperative with decades of experience supplying professional farming products and providing technical support.
- Women-led structure: The producer’s public identity centres on a women-led team operating across the full chain, from grower follow-up and technical guidance through selection, production, and commercialisation.
- Lower-alcohol positioning: Part of the Madeira Vintners range is intentionally positioned around a lower alcohol level (around 17% ABV), aimed at approachability without losing Madeira character.
- Canteiro is explicitly documented: Several wines are described as aged through canteiro in wooden casks, with oxidative development encouraged by warmer conditions in ageing lodges.
- Clear site notes for key grapes: The producer documents hand-harvested Malvasia from São Jorge (around 150–200 metres altitude) for both 5-year and 10-year styles.
- A single-harvest, time-specific wine: The 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita is described as matured in wood for eight years, offering a concrete “time in cask” reference point within the range.
- A vineyard-specific reserve blend: The Verdelho + Terrantez 5-year reserve is described as coming from a single vineyard in Canhas at around 420 metres altitude, highlighting a more site-driven side of the project.
7. Related Madeira Wine Producers
If you want a classic “historic lodge” reference point to compare against a newer producer, Madeira Wine Company is a natural benchmark. Tasting similarly labelled styles side by side can help you separate broad category character from Madeira Vintners’ newer, freshness-led positioning.
Henriques & Henriques is helpful when you want to explore how variety and ageing interact over longer time horizons. Comparing its age-stated wines with Madeira Vintners’ 5-year and 10-year bottlings can sharpen your sense of what time contributes.
Barbeito is often used as a reference for a more modern, precise style within Madeira wine. If you’re drawn to Madeira Vintners’ emphasis on balance and clarity in younger wines, Barbeito offers a useful point of comparison.
Justino’s is widely encountered in export markets and can serve as a “range and consistency” comparison. Pairing a Justino’s 5-year style with Madeira Vintners’ 5-year wines helps you see how different producers interpret similar category labels.
D’Oliveiras provides an instructive contrast if you want to step from modern-release wines into a producer more strongly associated with long-aged bottlings. It’s a useful counterweight when thinking about what “Madeira wine house” tradition can look like at the far end of the ageing spectrum.
8. FAQs About Madeira Vintners
When did Madeira Vintners start?
Madeira Vintners began with its first harvest in 2012. The brand was created and registered the following year, and the first wines reached the market in 2016.
Is Madeira Vintners connected to CAF?
Yes. Madeira Vintners is a project of CAF (Cooperativa Agrícola do Funchal), the Funchal Agricultural Cooperative.
Can you visit Madeira Vintners?
Yes. Guided visits and tastings are offered, with bookings handled via the form on the official producer page.
Does Madeira Vintners use the canteiro method?
Yes. The producer explicitly documents canteiro ageing in wooden casks for several wines, including Boal 5 years, Malvasia 5 years, Malvasia 10 years, and a 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita.
What wines are most useful to try first?
Start with the 3-year wines across the classic sweetness ladder to find your preferred style. Then move to a 5-year bottling for added depth, and finish with an older benchmark such as 2012 Tinta Negra Colheita or Malvasia 10 years.
What does the “lower-alcohol” positioning mean for Madeira Vintners?
Part of the range is positioned around a lower alcohol level (around 17% ABV), aligned with a house style description that repeatedly emphasises balance, good acidity, and a long finish even in younger Madeira wine.