Skip to main content

A Shot of History: You, Too, Can Drink 297-Year-Old Madeira Wine

In 1720, the pirates Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and “Calico Jack” Rackham were captured by Captain John Barnett and brought to trial. In 1720, too, Jonathan Swift had just begun writing his classic novel, Gulliver’s Travels. There may not have been the Internet or Tinder or even, you know, the Declaration of Independence, but there was booze. Many kinds of booze were being made, but on the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal, they were making fortified wine—which would come to be known as Madeira wine—and that fortified wine, by way of trade routes, made its way to what would become the United States. Those with money drank tons of it and now, if you’re in the DC area, you can drink it, too. Not just Madeira made today, but the exact same Madeira. From 1720.

Plume, the only Forbes-Five-Star restaurant in DC which is located inside The Jefferson Hotel, now has a bottle of Madeira wine from 1720 that, if you’re willing to spend the money, can offer you a chance to step back in time. For $1720 per 2 ounce pour, you can drink like our Founding Fathers drank. Aside from a few bottles of 1715 Terrantez, this is the oldest Madeira in existence.

Recommended Videos

Once it was acquired, the decision to offer this wine—and the Jefferson’s vast selection of other wines from various vintages—was easy.

“Let’s bring in wine that Thomas Jefferson drank or the types of wine that he would’ve drank,” Wine Director at The Jefferson Jennifer Knowles said.

Related: The Story Behind Madeira

But, what does a bottle of Madeira from almost 300 years ago taste like?

“It’s like bees stinging you in the mouth in the best way because of the acidity, but the finish goes on for around seven minutes,” Knowles said. Drinking this Madeira wine, or any of the other wines, Knowles added, are how people make memories. “When people drink these wines, it’s fun to see them pull out their phones and start telling each other about what was happening in the year that the wine was made.”

Fortified wine not your thing? Plume also offers rum flights that are based on the Triangular Trade, a series of trade routs that were also prevalent during Thomas Jefferson’s time. Currently on the menu at Plume are, among others, rums from the French Antilles.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Belizean rum is where it’s at and these cocktails prove it
A couple of classics, with rum front and center
Copalli Rum trio.

We're living in the rum renaissance. The spirit is no longer just a quiet backseat mixer, it's a star in its own right, playing a major role in classic cocktail recipes across the board. Perhaps best, it's wildly place-specific, showcasing the flavors of the very place its raised, whether that's Belize, Hawaii, the West Indies, or somewhere else.

Turns out, you can swap that bourbon or gin for rum in a lot of cases within the wide world of cocktails. You just need the right rum, like Copalli. The Belizean maker features white and aged rums, as well as a decidedly delicious and unique cacao rum. Whiel you can sip these offerings on their own, we suggest them in the following mixed sippers.
Old Fashioned

Read more
The best view of Washington’s Blue Mountains is at a barely year-old estate
Echolands is worth the scenic stop on your next visit to the Walla Walla Valley
A glass of wine in front of the Blue Mountains of Washington

My thoughts on the best view in Washington wine? It opened its doors in April 2024 in the Walla Walla Valley’s Mill Creek subregion. That’s when Echolands Winery unveiled a new panoramic tasting room, with the iconic Blue Mountains rising behind a medley of grapes and golden wheat.

Founders Doug Frost (holding the distinction of Master Sommelier and Master of Wine) and conservation-focused investor Brad Bergman started Echolands in 2018 and opened their downtown tasting room in 2022, nestled just a block from Walla Walla’s Main Street.

Read more
Love s’mores and coffee? This Joel McHale-approved treat combines both
The s'mores and coffee combination you didn't know you needed
Joel McHale

Just in time for s'mores season, Seattle's Best Coffee is taking coffee beyond the brew with Coffee Roast Mallows, a limited-edition variety pack created in partnership with XO Marshmallow. Inspired by the smooth taste of Seattle's Best Coffee, this cozy treat is approved by Seattle-native Joel McHale, an actor, comedian, and coffee aficionado.
Launched today, the coffee-inspired marshmallow variety pack features four toasty flavors along with a bag of Seattle's Best Coffee Campfire S'mores Flavored ground coffee. Dan Gaul, co-founder of The Manual, interviewed McHale to get the scoop on this latest release. Here's what he shared.
Why McHale loves Coffee Roast Mallows

Known for his sharp wit and passion for coffee, McHale brings the perfect blend of humor and hometown pride to “toast” as the hilarious face of Seattle's Best Coffee's new “May Smoother Coffee Bring Smoother Days” campaign. "These limited edition [coffee marshallows] are flavored and inspired by their coffee roasts—like the light roast, the dark roast, the medium, and then s’mores," says McHale. "Now, you can have this sweet treat with your coffee, or just put them in the cup like I do and eat them that way."
Growing up in the Northwest in Seattle, s'mores hold a special place in McHale's heart, reminding him of camping memories from his childhood. "You know, [our family didn’t have much money. I’m the youngest of five, so it’s not like we had a ton of money to go somewhere else. So, camping was our vacation in the summer," he shares. For him, this nostalgic coffee and s'mores duo evokes campfire feelings, taking him back to the good ol' days.
Though McHale is also a huge fan of iced coffee, he loves adding marshmallows to hot coffee for a cozy campfire feeling. Unaffected by coffee's caffeine, McHale says it doesn’t make his heart race.
What's inside each box

Read more