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Marsala is the name for a wine produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala wine has Denominazione di origine controllata, or DOC, status.
While the city's natives sometimes drink "vintage" Marsala, the wine produced for export is universally a fortified wine. Marsala wine was originally fortified with ethyl alcohol to ensure that it would last long ocean voyages, but it is made that way now due to its popularity in foreign markets.
History
The most creditable version of the introduction of Marsala fortified wine to a wider audience is attributed to the English trader John Woodhouse. In 1773, Woodhouse 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 Marsala wine was, and is, made using a process called in perpetuum, which is similar to solera system used to produce Sherry in Jerez, 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 wine would be popular in England. Marsala wine indeed proved so successful that Woodhouse returned to Sicily and, in 1796, began the mass production and commercialization of Marsala wine.
- "In 1833, the entrepreneur Vincenzo Florio, a Calabrese by birth and Palermitano by adoption, bought up great swathes of land between the two largest established Marsala producers and set to making his own vintage with even more exclusive range of grape".*
Florio purchased Woodhouse's firm, among others, in the late 19th century and consolidated the Marsala wine industry. Florio and Pellegrino remain the leading producers of Marsala wine today.
Characteristics and types
Marsala is produced using the Grillo, Inzolia, and Catarratto white grapes among others. The wine is characterized by its fairly intense amber color, and its complex aroma that shows hints of strong alcohol flavor. Different Marsala wines are classified according to their characteristics and the duration of their aging:
- Fine has minimal aging, typically less than a year
- Superiore is aged at least two years
- Superiore Riserva is aged at least four years
- Vergine e/o Soleras is aged at least five years
- Vergine e/o Soleras Stravecchio e Vergine e/o 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 chilled with Parmesan (stravecchio), Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and other spicy cheeses, or at room temperature as a dessert wine.
Marsala is often compared with another Sicilian wine, Passito di Pantelleria (Pantelleria Island's raisin wine).
In cooking
Marsala wine is frequently used in cooking, and is especially prevalent in Italian restaurants in the United States. A typical Marsala sauce, for example, involves reducing the wine almost to a syrup with onions or shallots, then adding mushrooms and herbs. The most popular Marsala recipe is chicken Marsala, 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 recipes, and is used to produce the rich Italian custard dessert zabaglione.
External links
Fortified wine | Italian wines | Italian DOC | Sicilian cuisine
Marsala (Wein) | Marsala (liqueur) | Marsala (vino) | Marsala (wijn) | Marsala (vin) | Марсала (вино) | Marsala (vinu)
"Marsala wine"