Notice

Colin Mills, compiler of the Hortus Camdenensis, died in late November 2012 after a short illness. As he always considered the Hortus his legacy, it is his family's intention to keep the site running in perpetuity. It will not, however, be updated in the near future.

Vitis vinifera ‘Verdelho’

‘Berries oval, small, having numerous very small ones, without seeds, interspersed; of a greenish yellow, but of a slight amber-coloured russet when fully exposed to the sun. Skin thin, almost transparent. Juice rather acid in ripening, but when fully matured of a rich saccharine flavour.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.211/1831].

 

 

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘This is the principal grape employed in Madeira for the making of Madeira wine. It is pronounced Verdellio by the natives. Introduced into this country by John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston. The Verdelho Grape may be grown to great advantage in pots in the greenhouse: the plants might be brought in early in the spring. The leafless stems of the vines, when first introduced, and indeed till the middle of May, would not injure the greenhouse plants; and the fruit would become perfectly ripe long before the middle of October, the Verdelho being rather an early grape.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.212/1831].

 

 

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues [Vines for Wine only no.2/1843].

This comment by William Macarthur: ‘No. 26 – Verdeilho or Madeira. Imported in 1825, by the Australian Agricultural Company. Small, oblong or oval, white grape. This, all its qualities considered, is the most valuable grape for wine we have hitherto proved in the colony. It produces with tolerable certainty, and more abundantly than any of the varieties of Pineau. Its crops may be estimated at from 300 to 600 gallons, and sometimes even 700 gallons to the acre. The wine rich and generous, evidently capable of being kept for a good number of years. It, however, does not appear to become fit for use until past its fourth year, and even then it improves greatly with age. The bunches are small, the berries small and oval, and generally very thinly set in the bunch. They seem to suffer little, either from excessive heat or long continued rains. The whole of the skin of the berry will sometimes perish, without the slightest damage to the pulp. They, besides, ripen more equally than the grapes of almost any other variety we have. It is liable to have its young shoots broken off during high winds, through their extreme tenderness or brittleness; and violent winds or rains, during the flowering, cause a large proportion of the flowers to become abortive. These are the only accidents to which to which it seems to be liable; in other respects it is a hardy variety, and begins to bear early; requires rather more room than the varieties of Pineau, say four feet by three feet. There is no reason to suppose that this sort is identical with the Pedro Ximenes, which is the variety chiefly cultivated at Xeres for the finest descriptions of sherry.’ [Maro p.27/1844].

 

 

Notes

Published Jun 24, 2010 - 01:17 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 12:22 PM

Family Vitaceae
Category
Region of origin

Garden origin, probably Madeira

Synonyms
  • Gouveio

 

Common Name

Grape, Wine Grape

Name in the Camden Park Record

Verdelho (Madeira)

 

 

Confidence level high