"I HOPE IT HASN'T affected the brakes, or we will be killed," says Ricardo Freitas, winemaker and owner of Madeira wine company Barbeito. "We will be killed," he repeats, as we navigate down a precipitously steep mountain road about 500 meters above sea level.

We're on the tiny volcanic island of Madeira, some 600 kilometers west of Morocco. It's early morning and, having met Mr. Freitas in the winery, I have asked to visit the vineyards. So we're driving in his plush 4x4 to Jardim da Serra, a parish...