Simple, clever, clear, elegant-just what a Tuesday theme should be but rarely is. Well first off this is a very good theme. Florio and Pellegrino remain the leading producers of Marsala today. In 1833, the entrepreneur Vincenzo Florio, a Calabrese by birth and Palermitano by adoption, bought up great swathes of land between the two largest established Marsala producers and set to making his own vintage with even more exclusive range of grape.įlorio purchased Woodhouse's firm, among others, in the late nineteenth century and consolidated the Marsala wine industry. Marsala indeed proved so successful that Woodhouse returned to Sicily and, in 1796, began its mass production and commercialization. In 1806, it was Benjamin Ingham (1784–1861), arriving in Sicily from Leeds, who opened new markets for Marsala in Europe and the Americas. Founded by Benjamin Ingham and later run by Joseph Whitaker and William Ingham Whitaker. Joseph and his brother William Ingham Whitaker inherited vast vineyards and his great grandfather Ingham's banking empire. Woodhouse further believed that fortified Marsala would be popular in England. Woodhouse recognized that the in perpetuum process raised the alcohol level and alcoholic taste of this wine while also preserving these characteristics during long-distance sea travel. In 1773, he landed at the port of Marsala and discovered the local wine produced in the region, which was aged in wooden casks and tasted similar to Spanish and Portuguese fortified wines then popular in England. Fortified Marsala was, and is, made using a process called in perpetuum, which is similar to the solera system used to produce Sherry in Jerez, Spain. Marsala fortified wine was probably first popularized outside Sicily by the English trader John Woodhouse. While unfortified wine is also produced in the Marsala region, it does not qualify for the Marsala DOC. Marsala first received Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status to Marsala, and most other countries limit the use of the term Marsala to products from the Marsala area. Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily.