Marsala was one of the first wines I tasted many years ago. As a 17 year old, my boyfriend and I made our first dishes together and our specialty was veal marsala and we drank the wine with the meal as well. At that time I had little knowledge of the complexity of this wine. Today, Marsala is finally making a come back. Cantine Florio is perhaps the most well known of Marsala producers. I have always enjoyed their wines and this one, the Florio 2015 Reserva Semisecco Grillo (Marsala Superiore) was marvelous.
The history of Marsala is fascinating. John Woodhouse an English merchant popularized Marsala in that he loved the wine and tried to bring it back home. He added alcohol to the barrels he sent bac to Britain to preserve them, and a new style of wine was born. Grapes had been introduced by the Phoenicians, but it was really John Woodhouse in 1773 who changed the fortunes of this style of wine. In addition to Woodhouse, other English firms began to expand Marsala production. Their market for the sale of these wines was overseas. At the beginning, the Marsala trade was all Englishmen buying grapes to make the wine.
That is until Vincenzo Florio created the winery in 1833 in Marsala which is in Western Sicily. The winery is located right near the sea and this proximity is key to the flavors in the wine. They describe the process of making Marsala as the combination of the sea, the air, the architecture, the soils, and the breezes. A combination of time, air, and space.
There are different styles of Marsala and the one I tried is one of the younger and fresher versions which is a blend of Grillo base wine, cooked must, Mistelle, and alcohol.
I cannot wait to make Veal Marsala again after reading all about this amazing wine. I may order the Superiore again or perhaps the vergine aged for at least 5 years in oak or the vergine riserva which is aged for at least 10 years.
avvinare.com 
