Marsala

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The production zone is almost entirely flat or at slightly elevated altitude, ranging from 50 metres above sea level along the coastal strip to a maximum of 300 metres in the low inland hills.
• The vineyards are generally facing the sea, exposed to intense sunlight, and planted on arid, low-fertility soils, which may be clayey, of siliceous/calcareous origin, sometimes rich in red earths, or sandy, often with shallow water tables.
• The climate of the zone is Mediterranean-insular, with winters that can be rainy and summers that are warm but dry, sometimes torrid due to the frequent warm winds from Africa.

• In the production of the wines, only the addition of ethyl alcohol of viticultural origin or wine spirit is permitted.
• In the outskirts of the inhabited centres, the characteristic bagli — farmstead wineries dating for the most part from the last two hundred and fifty years — are still visible, where the grapes from the surrounding feudal estates were originally brought in and vinified.
• The birth of Marsala as a fortified wine is credited to the English merchant John Woodhouse, who landed in the port of Marsala in 1773 and appreciated the wine aged in oak casks by the method known as in perpetuum. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The Marsala denominazione d'origine fortified wines are characterised by intensity of body, substantial alcoholic strength, elevated longevity, and excellent brilliance.

• The microclimate, characteristic of the entire western portion of Sicily, allows the grapes — trained also in the low bush-vine (alberello) system — to ripen while concentrating high levels of sugars and polyphenols, which will enable the ageing of wines with high extract.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A0785
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Volontario per la Tutela del Vino Marsala