If you are like me, you would think that Marsala is only a cooking wine.  Granted, chicken marsala is a very tasty dish & Marsala wine makes the dish, but there is much more to it than making good sauce!

Then there is the dilemma, sweet or dry?  Each recipe has its preference so it's best to follow the recipe.

What you may not know is that good Marsala can be a great substitute for Port, Sherry or Maderia.   It doesn’t have to be dessert either.

Marsala comes from the vines around the city Marsala on the western coast of Sicily.  The Arabic word Marsala means “God’s Harbor”.

The story is told that in the late 1700’s an English merchant, John Woodhouse docked in Marsala and tasted the wine in a tavern.  He decided to buy some barrels and headed to England where he sold out quickly.

He fortified the wine with some brandy for the long trip to England.  He returned to Marsala and started distributing to the world. 

Thus, the creation of Marsala wine as we know it.

Marsala DOC produces about 858,000 cases a year. 

Marsala can be made from green grapes or red grapes.  There are about 6 different classifications of Marsala, and we will try to explain them in some detail.

Marsala is like Sherry in that the wine gets oxidized in the barrel.  This happens because the barrels do not get completely filled. 

Barrel aging in mandatory for producing Marsala.

For the most part, they add ethyl alcohol (wine brandy) and grape must (cooked remains of juice and skins) for sweetness.  It’s wine though so there are exceptions.

We must get past the stereotypes of Marsala being a cheap cooking wine only.  Granted, most of the Marsala on the shelves in retail establishments are inexpensive cooking wines. 

I think comparing Marsala to Sherry is a good comparison due to the oxidation and the different styles from dry to sweet.

FINE- The first level and the one we are most familiar with is Fine.  Fine can be sweet (dolce) and dry (secco).  It must be 17% minimum alc. and made with green grapes only. 

Several grapes are allowed in Marsala but the primary grape used is Grillo, which I have written about previously.  The wine must age for 1 year before release with 8 months of that in oak barrels.  

MARSALA RUBINO- In this case only red grapes are used.  The only difference between fine and Rubino is the different grapes and Rubino minimum alc. is 18%.

MARSALA SUPERIORE-  In this case, any of the allowed grapes can be use to make the wine.  This requires 2 years of aging, with 20 months minimum in the barrel and minimum 18% alc.  This longer period of aging gives the wine a more golden color as well as more depth & complexity.

MARSALA SUPERIORE RISERVA-  Same as Superiore except double the time aging of which 44 months must be in barrels.  More aging creates more depth of flavors which is why this would be a great substitute for port or sherry.

MARSALA VERGINE or SOLERAS- This wine has no additives of grape must, just alcohol.  Vergine must age a minimum of 5 yrs. 

Soleras is a process of blending different vintages in the barrels.  It is common in Sherry production. (Probably where they got the idea.)

The wine would have parts of a wine from several vintages going back to the start (year)of the solera.

VERGINE STRAVECCHIO or Riserva is a 10 yr. minimum aging requirement. 

Not a lot of this wine is available to the masses.   It's very small production and on the higher end in regards to the cost. 

As you can imagine, this wine is a sipper wine to ponder the unanswered questions of life!  

Flavors of Marsala are nutty, apricots, honey, spices & vanilla.  Due to proximity to the sea, there is some undertones of salinity.  The more the wine is aged, the more elegant it becomes.  The Superiore Riserva’s are the perfect after dinner drink instead of Port or Sherry. 

Food Pairings:

The aged Marsala’s would pair nicely with Gorgonzola, or other blue cheeses.  Salty, dried meats like prosciutto and salami would also be wonderful.  The local favorite is Cous Cous with fish.

Like Sherry, it could also be a great aperitive to get the juices going.  Dry fine Marsala could hold up to most seafood.  They eat a lot of seafood and drink a lot of Marsala in Sicily.

I personally don’t think sweet wines work well with sweet food.  I feel the salty vs. the sweet is the better way to go.  To each is own.

MALVASIA-

There are many different types of Malvasia grapes in Italy.  I am not going to get into all of them here and now, as that would be the size of a book.

There are red, pink and white versions of the grape.  There are probably several hundred wines that use a portion of Malvasia grape in their wine. 

Most of the production of this varietal is in southern Italy, but it is prevalent in Lazio (central) and up north in the Piedmont. 

It is similar to Trebbiano in that it is widely grown and used in many wine regions.

Malvasia is of Greek origin.  It's an overachiever and versatile grape.  It is aromatic, good acidity and blends nicely.

Depending on where it comes from dictates some of the aromas and flavors.  The range is from apricot, honey, peach, pear, orange, and spice.  Not sweet, but fruity!

For this discussion, we are going to talk about the white (bianco) grape version of Malvasia. 

Since there are numerous wines that allow Malvasia, we are just going to talk about a few.

<- Probably the most famous wine made with Malvasia is Frascati DOC. 

This lies in the Lazio region of central Italy.  Rome is in the Lazio region.  Lazio is the largest producer of Malvasia at 32%. 

Frascati DOC produces about 400,000 cases of wine per year so we get to see good quantities of Frascati here in the USA.

My little study of the cuisine of Rome leads me to believe that Frascati is the perfect complement to Roman cuisine.

Speaking of Rome, my friend David Wagner wrote an entertaining book (a mystery) called “Roman Count Down” that takes place in Rome and is details the city quite nicely.  I suggest you get a copy.

Frascati is aromatic, crisp, sharp, with great acidity and easy to drink.  Excellent with seafood and lighter fare.  Great summer sipping wine too!

If you like a bit more roundness of fruit, the Frascati Superiore DOCG requires 12 months of aging before release.  Aging tends to soften the acidity and rounds out the fruit.  This extra time aging translates to a higher bottle price for Frascati Superiore DOCG.

Malvasia is often blended in Vin Santo.

Malvasia is used in some Maderia wines under the name Malmsey.

Malvasia and Trebbiano are the dynamic duo of Italian white grapes!

Food Pairings-

This lighter bodied, aromatic wine (Frascati) is great with seafood, lighter cheeses, cream sauces, olive oil, olives and appetizers.

Sweeter styles I would suggest dried meats, blue cheeses & savory foods.

Again, very versatile wine for dinner parties or neighborhood gathering.