Marsala wine and its origins

Among the many excellences of Sicilian wine production, one of the most famous is Marsala, a liqueur wine with Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status appreciated worldwide for its organoleptic characteristics and great versatility. Besides being enjoyed simply as it is, it is in fact used to enrich sauces, creams, appetizers, first and second courses, and desserts with flavor. Because of its countless possibilities for use in cooking, Marsala is one of the most important ingredients in Italian gastronomic tradition.

Its origins date back to the second half of the 18th century, when an English merchant named John Woodhouse, passing through the Mediterranean aboard his sailing vessel, was forced to dock at the port of Marsala because of a severe storm. During his stay he had the opportunity to taste in one of the city’s many taverns the best wine produced by the local farmers, perpetuum. One small glass and it was immediately love. He bought 50 barrels of it, but added wine distillate to it, as was the case with Port and Sherry, in order to preserve its characteristics during the long journey to the motherland. The first shipment took place in 1773 and was so successful that Woodhouse decided to buy a factory in Marsala to start large-scale production. Before long other Englishmen such as Ingham and Stephens established their own firms in Marsala, where they processed and aged wines purchased from inland winemakers. Later, in 1832, the first Italian factory, still one of the most remarkable in Europe, arose on the initiative of Vincenzo Florio.

The production area of Marsala has been identified, by the regulations that protect its origin, in the territory of the province of Trapani, excluding the municipality of Alcamo and the islands of Pantelleria and Favignana.

There are several types of this wine. The first major distinction is between Marsala Vergine and the so-called “tanned” Marsala. The former is fortified, after fermentation, with only wine-derived ethanol and/or wine brandy. Once subjected to aging by the soleras method, it can be marketed in the types: Marsala vergine, with aging of at least five years; and Marsala vergine riserva, with aging of at least ten years. “Tanned” Marsala, on the other hand, is fortified after fermentation with ethanol, cooked must and mistella (a mixture of late grape must and concentrated must). It, too, must undergo aging to reach marketing in the following types: Marsala fine, minimum 1 year of aging; Marsala superiore, minimum 2 years of aging; and Marsala superiore riserva, minimum 4 years of aging.

It is then divided by color into: gold, produced from white berry grapes without the addition of cooked must; amber, produced from white berry grapes, with the addition of more than 1 percent cooked must; and ruby, produced from black berry grapes (with a possible maximum addition of 30 percent white berry grapes) without the addition of cooked must.

Finally, it is differentiated according to its sugar content into: sweet, with sugars above 100 gr. per liter; dry, with sugars below 40 gr. per liter; and semi-dry, with sugars between 40 gr. and 100 gr. per liter. A little curiosity: sweet Marsala is also called Garibaldi because the hero of two worlds, who landed with his Thousand in Marsala, was enchanted by this type of wine.