Pride and Prejudice and Verdelho Madeira
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen, 1813
Verdelho Madeira
Madeira, Portugal
The wine Regency England actually drank — with a sharp wit to match.
Why it works
Madeira was a fixture of Georgian and Regency dining rooms, the kind of bottle Mr. Bennet might retreat to his library with. It is also, conveniently, one of the most food- and book-friendly wines in the world: nutty, caramelized and yet startlingly fresh.
Verdelho sits in the middle of Madeira’s sweetness scale — off-dry, with a twist of citrus peel and toasted almond — which suits Austen perfectly. It is warm without being cloying, and its bracing acidity keeps pace with Elizabeth’s best lines.
Also try
An amontillado sherry offers similar nutty depth if you can’t find Madeira.
In the same spirit
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
Brut Champagne
Non-vintage · Champagne, France
Bubbles for a party that is never quite as happy as it looks.
The Leopard
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, 1958
Etna Rosso
Mount Etna, Sicily
Volcanic, aristocratic, and quietly aware that everything is changing.