From 1773 up to the present, a history of Sicilian wine that traveled across the seas

Marsala

At the end of the 1700s, English ships sailed the Mediterranean –Sicily as well as Spain and Portugal – in search of power, wines and food to sell back home. The port of Marsala offered them safe harbor and a good supply of local wine: whites made with native Grillo, Cataratto and Ansonica, and reds produced with local Perricone, Nero d’Avola and Nerello Mascalese.

Wine was aged in wooden barrels and filled up with wine from the current year to maintain its level, since those inside the barrels loose a certain amount of liquid every year due to evaporation. In order for them to ship it, the English added in liquor and the final product became popular in their homeland as it was similar to wines that were already imported from Spain and Portugal, such as Sherry and Madeira, but with a much affordable price.

This is how Marsala was born and its history has reached us thanks to a great winery that has handed down its tradition: Florio.