3.5.2023
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 156/33
Specificity of the product
What distinguishes ‘Sidra da Madeira’ is that it is a natural (sometimes carbonated) cider with a wide range of colours, aromas and flavours and a vibrant acidity, which has made it very popular with consumers, and which is the result of fermenting the natural juice pressed from different ‘blends’ or combinations of the fresh fruit of traditional and other varieties of apple and, sometimes, pear which are grown and picked in orchards planted in various localities on the island of Madeira with more temperate microclimates and more acidic soil, from which the fruit derives its specific organoleptic characteristics.
It is also very well known by producers and consumers because it has always been very important to the inhabitants of the localities on the island where conditions are favourable for growing the fresh fruit from which it is made, where the most traditional cidermaking method was developed and where new practices authorised for this type of drink have been introduced to improve and differentiate its production.
Those localities also have ‘festivals’ and folklore events that take place every year to promote their ‘Sidra da Madeira’ and the apples and pears from which it is made.
Specificity of the geographical area
Natural factors.
Madeira is a volcanic island in the subtropical region of the North Atlantic.
It has a very uneven relief, with steep mountains separated by deep valleys, forming a central mountain range running from east to west, perpendicular to the prevailing winds, with altitudes of over 1 200 m.
Owing to its geographical location, Madeira has a mild climate with only small fluctuations in temperature, except on higher ground, where temperatures are lower.
The island’s mountainous terrain and exposure to the trade winds have produced a wide variety of microclimates, the southern side being sunny and sheltered, while the northern side is shady, cooler and wet.
The characteristics of the dominant basaltic soils change with increasing altitude and the resulting change in the climate, which becomes wetter and colder.
This is why the fruit used to produce ‘Sidra da Madeira’ is grown mainly in areas of the island with more temperate and humid microclimates – chiefly at altitudes of above 400 m on the south side and 300 m on the north side – where semi-acidic to acidic cambisols and andosols predominate, with good aeration and drainage.
Human factors.
Among the fruit trees introduced by the first Portuguese settlers in the 1420s were numerous varieties of apple and pear brought over from Portugal, which found ideal growing conditions in the areas with more temperate microclimates and predominantly sandy clay soils with medium to high acidity.
It is thought that production of ‘Sidra da Madeira’ began as soon as the orchards produced enough fruit for consumption and processing.
This is corroborated by the accounts of the chronicler Gomes Eanes de Zurara (1410–1474) and by other records indicating that ‘apple wine’ could be found among the supplies that the Portuguese fleets would collect from the island of Madeira from the middle of the 15th century onwards.
It is also known that, from the beginning of the 17th century, ‘apple wine’ was being produced alongside Madeira wine, using the same presses and, in some cases, was even used to adulterate it, until, at the beginning of the 20th century, a ban was introduced on making wine from apples to produce fake Madeira.
This ban meant that local producers started fermenting their apple juice to make ‘a new beverage’, which they initially called ‘cidra’ or ‘sidra’ and then subsequently ‘Sidra da Madeira’, to differentiate it from cider produced elsewhere.
The article published in 1906 by the agronomist João da Mota Prego (1859–1931), describing the methods to be used to ‘make cider on Madeira’ and inviting local producers to take up cider production, made a significant contribution to its development, and many producers still follow his recommendations today.
Furthermore, when describing the development of fruit growing on Madeira in 1947, the agronomist Vieira Natividade (1899–1968) mapped the wide range of apple and pear varieties on the island and identified the parishes where the tradition of cidermaking continued.