Marsala Flashcards
What are the three types of Marsala?
Oro, Ambra, Rubino
What is the range of residual sugar found in Marsala?
4% to over 10%
What is the name of the famous fortified wine of Sicily?
Marsala
Where is Marsala made?
Sicily
Marsala- Winemaking and Viticulture-
Marsala has always been a fortified wine, but production techniques have changed over the decades and modern Marsala, as codified in the docregulations of 1969, can be fortified only by adding grape spirit. Alcohol levels will also be slightly increased by mutage, creating a sweet so-called sifone by adding 20 to 25% of pure alcohol to a must of late-picked, overripe grapes. The viticulture of the zone has been considerably modified. Vines are trained on either wires or tendone systems rather than the traditional gobelet, and the traditional superior grapes of the region, grillo and inzolia, have been partially supplanted by the higher-yielding catarratto. This and enthusiastic irrigation has led to significant increases in yield (the DOC rules allow an excessively generous 10 tons/ha) and a corresponding drop in the grapes’ sugar levels. All these factors have led to poorer base wines, which has led to more routine sweetening and a loss of the intrinsic character of the wine itself, at its best when a dry Marsala Vergine. In the past the ageing of the better categories of Marsala (Superiore and Vergine) in ancient and poorly maintained casks did little for the quality of these wines, which, in theory, should be the standard-bearers of the zone. What has been most damaging to Marsala, however, has been the proliferation of so-called ‘Marsala Speciale’, cloying wines flavoured with coffee, chocolate, strawberries, almonds, or eggs, all of which enjoyed a DOC status equal to the real wine from 1969 to 1984, helping to create the impression that Marsala is best kept in the kitchen. The revision of the DOC in 1984 banned the use of the name Marsala for these speciale forms, although the misconception these cooking wines created persists, while obscuring the fact that Marsala Superiore and Marsala Vergine (made by solera) are the only true descendants of the historic tradition of Marsala.
Modern Marsala now comes in three different colours—Oro (golden), Ambra (amber: the colour coming from mosto cotto, which also serves as a rather poor-quality sweetener of other wines), and Rubino (ruby, made from nero d’avola, perricone, and/or nerello mascalese grapes)—and each colour comes in a Secco (a maximum of 40 g/l of residual sugar), a Semisecco (40 to 100 g/l), and a sweet (over 100 g/l) version. There are, in addition, five further types, depending on the cask ageing that the wines receive: a subsequent one year for Fine, two years for Superiore, four years for Superiore Riserva, five years for Vergine, ten years for the Stravecchio version of Vergine. The 1984 revision of the DOC also banned the use of mosto cotto in Marsala Oro and Marsala Rubino. Mosto cotto is still required for Marsala Ambra, and represents a foolish attempt to create the impression of a cask-aged wine by deepening its colour with concentrate, although since 1984 it has been greatly reduced to a minimum of 1%. The almost extinct Vergine version, however, the purest and most interesting type of all, cannot be made with mosto cotto. Although some 1,672 ha/4,130 acres of vineyards were registered as DOC in 2012, producing 135,612 hl of Marsala (the equivalent of 18 million bottles), truly fine wines that are the result of long cask ageing are rare, if not completely extinct. Marco de Bartoli, the most innovative producer of the zone, may not state the Marsala name on the labels of his Vecchio Samperi, a prototype high-quality Marsala Vergine, as it is made without the required addition of alcohol, although it has the mandatory 18% alcohol by volume.
Marsala- History
Although the province of Trapani, where the wine is produced, has always been a centre of Sicilian viticulture, Marsala can said to have been born with the arrival in Marsala in 1770 of John Woodhouse, an English merchant and connoisseur of port, sherry, and madeira, who noted a striking similarity between the wines of the subzone of Birgi and the fortified wines of Spain and Portugal. Woodhouse ‘invented’ Marsala in 1773 by adding 8 l/2 gal of grape spirit to each of the 400-l/105-gal barrels which he shipped to England, and proceeded to open a warehouse and cellars in the township of Marsala in 1796. The victualling of Nelson’s fleet in 1798 doubtlessly assisted in spreading the name of the wine, and Woodhouse was followed by another Englishman, Benjamin Ingham, who founded a Marsala firm in 1812 and contributed greatly to improving the area’s viticulture. The largest Marsala house, Florio, whose premises once occupied a full km of seafront, was founded by Vincenzo Florio from calabria in 1832. Marsala’s production and marketing has always been dominated by large commercial houses, although there has been little continuity over time. These three pioneering houses failed to survive the 1920s and were absorbed by the vermouth house of Cinzano in 1929, and of the various Italian houses founded in the 19th century only Rallo, Pellegrino, and Vito Curatolo Arini remain today, with the last being the only producer still run by descendants of the founding family.
Marsala
Town in western sicily and the fortified wine produced around it. For over 200 years one of Sicily, and Italy’s, most famous products, Marsala has fallen on hard times as declining quality, evaporating markets, and plunging production levels have called into question the very survival of the wine, or at least of its better types, although there are modest signs of revival.
What is Marsala?
Marsala wine is a fortified wine from Sicily. It’s commonly used for cooking to create rich caramelized sauces. There are two styles of Marsala to know for cooking and they are dry vs. sweet, but Marsala is so much more than a cooking wine! It can be made dry and fine enough for sipping, like Sherry or Madeira.
Right now Marsala is undervalued. We hope to bring you up to speed on this unique wine that has some striking taste similarities to Madeira wine.
The most common flavors are vanilla, brown sugar, stewed apricot and tamarind. Marsala wine ranges from a nearly dry style to sappy sweet and are served slightly cool around 55° F. If you get the opportunity to try a high-end Marsala, you will experience a larger range of nuanced flavors including morello cherry, apple, dried fruits, honey, tobacco, walnut and licorice.
What makes Marsala unique?
Marsala wine has a unique taste for two reasons: the use of only Sicilian indigenous grapes and a complex winemaking process. Making Marsala wine is complex:
- Marsala is fortified with brandy or neutral grape spirit usually made with regional grapes.
- A cooked grape must called ‘Mosto Cotto’ gives Amber Marsala its deep brown color.
- A sweetened fortified wine called ‘Mistella’ is often blended, made from Grillo grapes.
- High-end Marsala wines employ a special aging system called Soleras.
What are the types of Marsala?
Marsala wine is split up into different styles based on the type of grapes used (white or mostly red) and the winemaking method. You’ll discover that most Marsala made for cooking is Fino or Fine Marsala which is actually the lowest quality level of the wine.
