Vendange Tardive

In Alsace, the term for wines made from late-picked, very ripe grapes. VT wines, as they are called, are not as sweet as selection de Grains Nobles nor are they botrytized.

Which wine was used to toast the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

A. Madeira

B. Virginia “Claret”

C. Champagne

D. Bordeaux

Drunk by the founding fathers during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Madeira was also what Francis Scott Key sipped as he composed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” George Washington (who reportedly drank a pint every night with dinner), Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin all adored it, as did John Adams (who wrote to his wife, Abigail, about the copious amounts they consumed during the Continental Congress). By the end of the eighteenth century, nearly a fourth of all the Madeira produced was being exported to the American colonies. The unbridled American passion for Madeira was certainly a testament to its compelling flavor. But Madeira’s popularity was equally based on something far more mundane: taxes. As of 1665, British governing authorities in the colonies had banned the importation of European goods, unless they were shipped on British ships that had sailed from British ports (and paid British taxes). Merchandise shipped from Madeira was exempted. Merchants in Madeira took full advantage of the loophole, establishing close trading relationships with merchants in Baltimore, Boston, New York, Savannah, Charleston, and Philadelphia.

“Knowing what minerality is reminds me of that line about pornography: I know it when I see it.”

—Ted Lemon
Owner and Winemaker
Littorai

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