1880 Facts about Port and Madeira by Henry Vizetelly

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The Vineyards and Wines of Madeira.

in a homely way off various Madeira delicacies, including some choice old Sercial, with an appetite which the exces sive heat had in no wise moderated. When we were again on the move we visited the vineyards surrounding the Estreito church, passing at intervals under vines in corridors, and eventually making the descent of the valley of the Eibeiro dO' Vigario, catching glimpes every now and then of the brilliant blue sea. Then we wound along a narrow, rugged mountain road, occasionally passing a casa with butts of wine ranged on a rocky ledge in front to mature more rapidly under the influence ofa burning sun. On one side of us rose a wall ofrock, and on the other descended a steep precipice, as we followed a turn in the ravine in order to cross the narrow stone bridge spanning the rocky chasm. Perched on the summit of the jutting crags were one or two little houses, after passing which the road ran for a while between stone walls, with trellised vines throwing out their branches overhead. Our bearers strode briskly forward,keeping time and step, and thereby imparting to our hammocksan agreeable oscfllating motion which sent us half-way into the land of dreams, whence we were suddenly summoned back as we made some abrupt jolting descent. Occasionally we stopped for a time to inspect a vineyard and ascertain the prospects of the vintage. At one casa we tasted some very fair wine, which its peasant owner, who had a stock of fifteen or sixteen pipes, worth between two and three hundred pounds, was exceedingly anxious to selk When we set out again our bearers, who meanwhile had been liberally refreshed with wine, became remarkably lively, cutting jokes with every passing peasant. A good hour was spent in continual ascents and descents of the intricate winding road, along the steep sides of the ravine, everywhere laid out in ter races and garden plots. A waterfall topples downover a ledge of rock and loses itself in vaporous spray, the mountain path becomes narrow and rugged and difiicult to traverse, the pre cipice gets loftier and steeper, and should our bearers, whose gaiety somewhat troubles one, only make a false step, we see