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Marsala Wine
Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union 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 Liverpool merchant 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 and Portuguese fortified wines then popular in England. Fortified wine in Marsala has always been made using a process called ''in perpetuum'', which is similar to the '' solera'' system used to produce Sherry in Jerez ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spice Mix
Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, and other seasoned salts are traditionally sold pre-made by grocers, and sometimes baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice are also available. These spice mixes are also easily made by the home cook for later use. Masala Masala (from Hindi language, Hindi/Urdu language, Urdu ''masalah'', based on Arabic language, Arabic ''masalih'') is a term from the Indian subcontinent for a spice mix. A masala can be either a combination of dried (and usually Dry roasting, dry-roasted) spices, or a paste (food), paste (such as vindaloo masala) made from a mixture of spices and other ingredients—often garlic, ginger, onions, chilli paste and tomato. Masalas are used extensively in Indian cuisine to add spice and flavour, most familiarly to Western cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joseph Whitaker (ornithologist)
Joseph Isaac Spadafora Whitaker (19 March 1850 in Palermo – 3 November 1936 in Rome) was a Sicilian-English ornithologist, archaeologist and sportsman. He was a member of the Whitaker family. He is mainly known for his work on the birds of Tunisia, and for being involved in the foundation of the Sicilian football club US Città di Palermo. He was married to the author and hostess Tina Scalia Whitaker. Biography Whitaker's family came from Huddersfield in west Yorkshire. He inherited the Ingham Marsala wine business through his paternal grandmother, Mary Ingham, whose brother Benjamin (1784-1861) went into business in Palermo. The Inghams were from Ossett in Yorkshire - there is an Ossett website which gives a detailed biography of the Ingham Marsala Wine co. He and his brother William Ingham Whitaker (Pylewell Park) inherited vast vineyards and his great grandfather Ingham's banking empire. Their story is told in Raleigh Trevelyan's 1972 ''Princes Under the Volcano: Two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roquefort Cheese
Roquefort () is a sheep milk blue cheese from southern France. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, EU law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Combalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as it is a recognised geographical indication, and has a protected designation of origin. Roquefort is white, tangy, creamy and slightly moist, with veins of blue mold. It has a characteristic fragrance and flavor with a taste of butyric acid; the blue veins provide a sharp tang. It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty. A typical wheel weighs between 2.5 and 3kg (5.5 to 6.6lbs), and is about thick. Each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 4.5 liters of milk to produce. In France, Roquefort is often called the "king of cheeses" or the "cheese of kings", although those names are also used for other cheeses. History According to legend, Roquefort cheese was discovered when a youth, eating his lunch of bread and ewes' mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorgonzola Cheese
Gorgonzola (, ) is a famously pungent Italian blue cheese made from unskimmed cow's milk; believed to have been created in the 9th century; now with use of its name controlled under the criteria of a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Gorgonzola is available in two primary variations: ''Dolce'' with a more delicate flavor and buttery consistency, vs ''Piccante'' with a more pungent flavor and firm, crumbly texture. Either can be quite salty, with a "bite" from their blue veining. More recently, a variation has been marketed widely, featuring a layered block alternating the more assertive Gorgonzola with the more delicate Mascarpone, marketed as ''Gorgonzola e Mascarpone.'' The cheese takes its name from Lombardian town of Gorgonzola, Milan, where the cheese originated and which celebrates an annual September Gorgonzola festival, called the ''Sagra Nazionale del Gorgonzola''. Within the European Union and countries recognizing Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan (, ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a grana-type cheese, along with Grana Padano, the historic , and others. The term ''Parmesan'' may refer to either Parmigiano Reggiano or, when outside the European Union and Lisbon Agreement countries, a locally produced imitation. Parmigiano Reggiano is named after two of the areas which produce it, the Italian provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' is the Italian adjective for the city and province of Parma and ''Reggiano'' is the adjective for the province of Reggio Emilia); it is also produced in the part of Bologna west of the River Reno and in Modena (all of the above being located in the Emilia-Romagna region), as well as in the part of Mantua (Lombardy) on the south bank of the River Po. The names ''Parmigiano Reggiano'' and ''Parmesan'' are protected designations of origin (PDO) for cheeses produced in these provinces under Itali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nero D'Avola
Nero d'Avola (; ) is "the most important red wine grape in Sicily"winecountry.iSicily Grape Varieties and is one of Italy's most important indigenous varieties. It is named after Avola in the far south of Sicily, and its wines are compared to New World Shirazes, with sweet tannins and plum or peppery flavours. It also contributes to Marsala Rubino blends.Robinson, Jancis ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' Mitchell Beazley 1986 .winepros.com.au. http://www.nerodavola.com History "The Black Grape of Avola" appears to have been selected by growers near Avola Avola (; /, becoming / if preceded by vowel; ) is a city and in the province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). History The foundation of the city in an area previously inhabited by the Sicani and invaded by the Sicels in the 13th-12th ... (a small town in south east Sicily) several hundred years ago. Initially, it was confined to the southern tip of the island, but more recently has spread throughout the island. Nero d'A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perricone
Perricone (also known as Pignatello) is a red Italian wine grape variety that is grown in Sicily. In the late 20th century there was around 1000 hectares/2,500 acres of the grape planted throughout the island.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 148 Oxford University Press 1996 Red berry flavors and medium alcohol content are commonly attributed to Perricone wines, but Oz Clarke describes them as full-bodied and alcoholic.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 167 Harcourt Books 2001 DOC wines In Sicily, Perricone is a permitted variety in the Contea di Sclafani DOC which includes vineyards in the Caltanissetta and Agrigento provinces. Here Perricone can be made as a varietal wine provided it represents at least 85% of the wine's total content or it can be used in the DOC red wine where together with Nero d'Avola (Calabrese) it must represent at least 50% of the blend with local varieties, such as Nerello Mascalese, and Sangiovese as well as internati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Residual Sugar
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while acids cause sourness and bitter tannins cause bitterness. These principles are outlined in the 1987 work by Émile Peynaud, ''The Taste of Wine''. History ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'', a book authored by British wine writer Hugh Johnson, presents several methods that have been used throughout history to sweeten wine. The most common way was to harvest the grapes as late as possible. This method was advocated by Virgil and Martial in Roman times. In contrast, the ancient Greeks would harvest the grapes early, to preserve some of their acidity, and then leave them in the sun for a few days to allow them to shrivel and concentrate the sugar. In Crete, a similar effect was achieved by twisting the stalks of the grape to deprive them o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. Abbeville Press 2003 . In the Etna DOC, the grape is often blended with Minella bianca and Carricante.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz: ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'', p. 640. Allen Lane 2012 . Subvarieties and phenotypes Catarratto exists in different phenotypes characterised by different pruinosity, i.e., different amount of whitish "bloom" on the grape berries. When this bloom is largely absent, the grapes give a more glossy impression. ''Catarratto Bianco Comune'' is characterised by a high amount of bloom, while ''Catarratto Bianco Lucido'' has a limited amount of bloom, and is more glossy or 'lucid'. The distinction between the two was first described by the Ampel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inzolia
Ansonica or Inzolia is a white Italian wine grape planted primarily in western Sicily where it can be used to produce Marsala wine. The grape is noted for its nutty aroma. In Tuscany, the grape is known as Ansonica. J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pg 112 Abbeville Press 2003 It is the chief (and potentially only) component of the Tuscan D.O.C. Ansonica Costa dell'Argentario, which is located on the extreme southern coast of Tuscany and on the island of Giglio. Joseph Batianich & David Lynch Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy" pg 428 Clarkson Potter Publishers Ansonica can also be found in the following DOC wines: Calabria: Bivongi DOC; Sicily: Alcamo DOC, Contea di Sclafani DOC, Contessa Entellina DOC, Delia Nivolelli DOC, Erice DOC, Memertino di Milazzo or Mamertino DOC, Marsala DOC, Menfi DOC, Monreale DOC, Riesi DOC, Salaparuta DOC, Sambuca di Sicilia DOC, Santa Margherita di Belice DOC, Sciacca DOC, Vittoria DOC; T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
