Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

city of Marsala in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Marsala first received ''

Denominazione di Origine Controllata The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...

'' (DOC) status in 1969. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

grants Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status to Marsala, and most other countries limit the use of the term ''Marsala'' to products from the Marsala area. While unfortified wine is also produced in the Marsala region, it does not qualify for the Marsala DOC.

History

Marsala fortified wine was probably first popularized outside Sicily by the English trader John Woodhouse. In 1773, he landed at the port of Marsala and discovered the local wine produced in the region, which was aged in wooden casks and tasted similar to

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

fortified wines then popular in England. Fortified Marsala was, and is, made using a process called ''in perpetuum'', which is similar to the ''

solera ''Solera'' is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many ...

'' system used to produce

Sherry Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...

, Spain. Woodhouse recognized that the ''in perpetuum'' process raised the alcohol level and alcoholic taste of this wine while also preserving these characteristics during long-distance sea travel. Woodhouse further believed that fortified Marsala would be popular in England. Marsala indeed proved so successful that Woodhouse returned to Sicily and, in 1796, began its mass production and commercialization. In 1806, it was Benjamin Ingham (1784–1861), arriving in Sicily from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, who opened new markets for Marsala in Europe and the Americas. Founded by Benjamin Ingham and later run by Joseph Whitaker and William Ingham Whitaker. Joseph and his brother William Ingham Whitaker inherited vast vineyards and his great grandfather Ingham's banking empire.

In 1833, the entrepreneur
Vincenzo Florio Vincenzo Florio Jr. (18 March 1883 – 6 January 1959) was an Italian entrepreneur, heir of the rich Florio entrepreneurial dynasty, one of the wealthiest Italian families during the late 19th century.

Florio The Florio family is a prominent entrepreneurial Italy, Italian family who started many lucrative activities in Sicily involving above all the exportation of Sicilian products (such as Marsala wine) in the nineteenth century, in some ways redeemi ...

purchased Woodhouse's firm, among others, in the late nineteenth century and consolidated the Marsala wine industry. Florio and Pellegrino remain the leading producers of Marsala today.

Characteristics and types

Marsala is produced using the Grillo, Inzolia,

Catarratto Catarratto is a white Italian wine grape planted primarily in Sicily where it is the most widely planted grape. Catarratto can make full bodied wines with lemon notes.J. Robinson: ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition, p. 101. Abbevill ...

and Damaschino white grape varietals, among others. Marsala contains about 15–20% alcohol by volume. Different Marsala wines are classified according to their color, sweetness, and the duration of their ageing. The three levels of sweetness are ''secco'' (with a maximum 40

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s of residual sugar per liter), ''semisecco'' (41–100 g/L) and ''sweet'' (over 100 g/L). The color and ageing classifications are as follows:J. Robinson (ed) ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'' Third Edition p. 428–429 Oxford University Press 2006 * ''Oro'' has a golden colour * ''Ambra'' has an amber colour. The coloring comes from the ''mosto cotto'' sweetener added to the wine * ''Rubino'' has a ruby colour, made from red grape varieties such as Perricone, Nero d'Avola and Nerello MascaleseP. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 176 Firefly Books 2004 * ''Fine'' is aged at least one year * ''Superiore'' is aged at least two years * ''Superiore Riserva'' is aged at least four years * ''Vergine'' and/or ''Soleras'' is aged at least five years * ''Vergine'' and/or ''Soleras Stravecchio'' and ''Vergine'' and/or '' Soleras Riserva'' is aged at least ten years Marsala wine was traditionally served as an aperitif between the first and second courses of a meal. Contemporary diners will serve its drier versions chilled with

Parmesan Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' ...

(stravecchio),

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. History Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...

Roquefort Roquefort is a sheep milk cheese from Southern France, and is one of the world's best known blue cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur ...

, and other spicy cheeses, with fruits or pastries, and the sweeter at room temperature as a

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...

. Marsala is sometimes discussed with another Sicilian wine, ''Passito di Pantelleria'' ( Pantelleria Island's

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

wine).

In cooking

Marsala wine is frequently used in cooking, and is especially prevalent in dishes served in Italian restaurants in the United States. Dry Marsala wine is used in savory cooking. A typical savory Marsala sauce, for example, involves reducing the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

almost to a syrup with

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

s or

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

s, then adding

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

s and herbs. One of the most popular Marsala recipes is

chicken marsala Chicken marsala (Italian: ''Scaloppine di pollo al Marsala'') is an Italian-American cuisine, Italian-American dish of chicken escalopes in a Marsala DOC, Marsala wine sauce. It is a variation of traditional Italian ''Scaloppine, scaloppina'' di ...

, in which flour-coated pounded chicken breast halves are braised in a mixture of Marsala, butter, olive oil, mushrooms, and spices. Marsala is also used in some

risotto Risotto (, , from meaning "rice") is a northern Italian rice dish cooked with broth until it reaches a creamy consistency. The broth can be derived from meat, fish, or vegetables. Many types of risotto contain butter, onion, white wine, and Pa ...

recipes. Sweet Marsala wine is used to produce rich Italian desserts such as '' zabaione'' and

shortcake Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone like texture. There is multiple variations of shortcake most of which are usually served with fruit and cream, one of the most popular being strawberry shortcake which is typically s ...

References

{{Wines Fortified wine Italian DOC Marsala Cuisine of Sicily Florio family Wines of Sicily

History

Characteristics and types

In cooking

See also

References