Marsala is the most famous and prized Italian liquor wine, born of a curious and fortuitous historical background. The wine undergoes a special processing that brings it close to other products of the same type (Porto, Madeira, Jerez), but it distinguishes itself by the typicality of the land it is born in and autochthonous vine species.

History and production techniques
At the end of the 1700s an English merchant was impressed by the wine of the Sicilian city of Marsala and, to keep it until he had reentered his homeland, he added a certain quantity of ethyl alcohol.

Production techniques were then perfected according to the production methods of the most famous liquor Portuguese and Spanish wines. Already at the beginning of the 1800's it was popular in North America, Brazil and Australia, and later in Europe (Germany, Russia, Scandinavian Countries).

Production stages are complex and they follow a strict procedure. The first is a vintage that selects only the most mature bunches, then followed by a white vinification (which excludes the must-marcs contact). The product is then put in 3-4 hl barrels, filled only two thirds of the way, but without being subject to important alterations owing to its high alcoholic gradation (18°-21°) which is derived by adding cooked must and ethyl alcohol in a 3-5% proportion.

The Marsala then follows the aging stages of the 'soleras' system: from the barrels, placed in a scale, a series of partial decanting in the barrels underneath (about a third of the contents). This allows to mix wines of different vintages to obtain a balanced and harmonic product.

The disciplinary
To ensure the exclusivity and the quality of the product, there is a strict disciplinary which denominates 'Marsala' only the liquor wines that have been produced in the Trapani province (excluding the territories of Pantelleria, Favignana and Alcamo), obtained on the basis of the Grillo and/or Catarratto vine species.

According to the aging, the colour, the sugary degree, there are different types. The 'Fine' Marsala needs at least 1 year of refining, the 'Superiore' 2, the 'Superiore Riserva' 4, the 'Vergine or Soleras' 5, the 'Vergine and/or Soleras Stravecchio' or 'Vergine and/or Soleras Riserva' 10.

The colour can be gold, amber or ruby, where is the sugary degree determines three types of wine: dry, with reducer sugars less than 40 g/l; semidry, with sugars between 40-100 g/l; sweet, with sugars more than 100 g/l.

The tasting
Less fashionable than its Iberian 'cousins', Marsala can offer rich and complex sensations. The 'Superiore' and 'Vergine' types, refined in durmast casks, develop woody, vanilla and caramel scents, tones of citrus, honey, dried fruits, particularly toasted almond, which are to be enjoyed at a temperature that lies between 12 and 14 °C, in small tulip shaped glasses.

The dry Vergine and Superiore Marsala are to be tasted as aperitif, but they can also be matched to fish and crustaceans, with scented and rich sauces.

The Superiore Marsala is a meditation wine, but it can also be associated with a foie gras, or dessert, whether a sweet one or a herbed or spicy cheese (Gorgonzola, Stilton, Roquefort).