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| Wood carvings on the floor after a days planing and carving at a part of a barrel being prepared for Madeira Wine |
For centuries, barrels for Madeira wines were made on the island. The staves are always hand made, as they must be of proper thickness that can only be obtained by human hands, not by machines. Strips of banana bark still seal many seams.
Barrel cleaners scrub the barrels thouroughly for the new must - until clear water is rinsed out. The rinsed water is held to the light to quality test the nonexistence of impurities that may mix with the new vintage.
