What is Marsala?

Marsala comes from the far west of Sicily, from the area around the port city of Marsala in the province of Trapani.

The production area covers almost the entire province; only Pantelleria, Favignana and Alcamo fall outside it. The wine has a protected designation of origin, abbreviated DOC.

An Italian production regulation lays down which grapes are permitted, which colours and sweetness classes exist, how long each class must mature and what minimum alcohol content goes with it. Whatever does not comply may not bear the name marsala.

Marsala oro and ambra are made from the white grapes Grillo, Catarratto, Ansonica (Inzolia) or Damaschino; marsala rubino from the black grapes Perricone, Calabrese or Nerello Mascalese.

Calabrese is the local name for Nero d’Avola and Perricone is also known as Pignatello. With rubino up to 30 percent white grapes may be used.

The label usually does not state the grape, but the colour, the sweetness class and the ageing class. Those three together say more about what you get in the glass than the grape name.

Oro, ambra and rubino are the three colours of marsala: gold-coloured, amber-coloured and ruby red.

Oro is a more or less intense golden colour and comes from white grapes. Ambra is yellow-amber and owes that colour to the way it is made. Rubino is ruby red from black grapes and acquires amber tones with the years.

The colour says nothing about the sweetness. An oro can be secco, semisecco or dolce, and that applies equally to ambra and rubino.

Fine, Superiore, Superiore Riserva, Vergine and Vergine Stravecchio are the maturation classes of marsala, with minimum periods that rise from one to ten years.

Fine matures for at least one year and has a minimum of 17.5 percent alcohol. Superiore matures for at least two years and Superiore Riserva for at least four years; both have a minimum of 18 percent.

Vergine, also called Soleras, matures for at least five years and Vergine Stravecchio for at least ten years. In those two classes the residual sugar is limited, so they are always dry.

No. In the Netherlands, Marsala is known as a cooking wine, but the dry and longer-aged grades are made to be drunk from a glass.

A marsala secco or a Vergine goes into the glass as an aperitif, lightly chilled. A dolce goes with nuts, hard cheese or a dessert.

De kleine keukenflesjes uit de supermarkt zijn een aparte categorie. Voor in het glas kiest u een fles met een rijpingsklasse op het etiket. NIX18: alcohol wordt niet verkocht aan mensen onder de achttien.