A sweet or semi-sweet, fortified, amber or dark DOC wine from the extreme north west of Sicily made predominantly with Grillo grapes and much used in cooking. Other grapes used in the production of the amber Marsala are white Catarratto and Inzolia while the dark versions are made with red Perricone, Calabrese and Nerello Mascalese grapes. It is made using the process called perpetuum, similar to the solera process used in making sherry. The wines are aged in wooden barrels. Nowadays, Marsala is fortified by the addition of sifone made from sweet wine and alcohol.
There are various stories of how Marsala arose as a fortified wine, but it seems to be generally agreed that John Woodhouse, a shipper from England, arrived in Marsala and enjoyed the local wines, which bore a resemblance to sherries and ports being imported very successfully into England from Spain and Portugal. He recognised that, not only was this likely to be a popular wine in England but that the fortification process was likely to make the wines robust for travelling.
There are different grades of Marsala.
Marsala Fine: 17º alcohol and typically aged for less than a year, often as little as four months.
Marsala Superiore: 18º alcohol aged for at least two years
Marsala Superiore Riserva: 18º alcohol aged at least four years
Marsala Vergine: 18º alcohol and 5 years old. May also be called Marsala Soleras
Marsala Vergine Stravecchio: 18º alcohol and at least ten years old. May also be called Marsala Soleras Stravecchio, Vergine Riserva or Soleras Riserva
Marsala Speciale 18º 6 months (not DOC)
Florio and Pellegrino are the main producers of Marsala wine today.
