Wine and Vine Museum

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Madeira > Santana > Arco de São Jorge > Casais

Location

In the north of Madeira Island, in Santana, you will find the Wine and Vine Museum, located in the parish of Arco de São Jorge. More precisely, this space is situated in the Casais area, which hosts the Experimental Viticulture Field. Its location allows for direct contact with the agricultural and natural surroundings of the region, with landscapes stretching along the coast and inland, being close to Regional Road 101.

The museum's outdoor space offers a serene environment, punctuated by gardens, shrubs, and examples of local flora, including Laurisilva trees, providing areas to enjoy the natural richness of the parish.

Memory of the Vine and Wine

This museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the memory of Madeiran wine and viticulture. Over the centuries, Madeira's wine production has earned a worldwide reputation, and this space celebrates the complexity and legacy of that process. It represents a meeting point with the region's cultural and agricultural history, highlighting the importance of wine in the local identity.

The Museological Space

The museum's main building is an old winery, meticulously restored to house its collections. This space is complemented by an experimental viticulture field, where the vineyard can be observed at different stages of development. Inside the winery, visitors can discover a wide range of tools, many of them donated by the local population, which bear witness to viticulture practices over the decades.

Particularly noteworthy are the three restored traditional wine presses, which allow for a deeper understanding of ancestral grape-stomping techniques. The entire museum route was designed to be accessible, being organized on a single floor with ramps.

Journey Through Wine Culture

Inside the museum, visitors are guided through an informative journey that unveils the various cycles of the vine, from pruning to harvest, and presents the particularities of the diverse grape varieties cultivated on the island. Through explanatory panels and the observation of authentic equipment, the museum illustrates all phases of wine production, from soil preparation to final bottling.

The collection of instruments, dating from the early 20th century to the 1990s, holds significant ethnographic and technical value, with each piece properly identified with its function and origin.

A Legacy of Roots and Tradition

The creation of this museum, inaugurated in 2005, was part of a broader community project, named "Raízes" (Roots), with the purpose of enhancing productive potential and local traditions. An initiative that involved the commitment of agricultural associations and regional entities, the museum is not merely a repository of objects.

On the contrary, it serves as a dynamic space that hosts various activities, such as lectures and temporary exhibitions, contributing to the cultural vitality of the community and the continuous dissemination of Madeiran wine heritage.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt