Verdelho

Verdelho is a white grape variety and a corresponding style of Madeira wine, one of the four recognised styles of this fortified wine (the others being the dry Sercial, the medium-sweet Bual and Terrantez, and the lusciously sweet Malvasia (Malmsey).

Verdelho Madeiras are medium-dry, containing up to up to 2.5 percent residual sugar; a style between Sercial (the driest at up to 1.5 percent residual sugar) and Bual (3.5 percent maximum residual sugar); Malmsey Malvasia has more than four percent residual sugar.

Verdelho does not have the razor-sharp acidity of Sercial; it is more rounded, and its elegant fruit qualities (dried fruits and honey) make it equally suitable as an apéritif or dessert wine.