Origin
Marsala is an Italian fortified wine that comes from the town of Marsala in Sicily. The climate on the Mediterranean island is mild, with temperatures between 13° C and 29° C. The European Community has protected the name 'Marsala' for wine produced in Italy.
Production and post-treatment
The biggest unique selling point of Marsala is the special ageing method, called 'perpetuum' by locals. This name comes from the (non-sparkling) wine that was previously produced in Sicily. In the perpetuum method, the barrels are never completely emptied. The barrels are filled with the latest harvest, left to mature and then bottled according to demand. When the next harvest is ready, the barrels are filled again. Thus, each Marsala wine is a combination of different vintages.
The difference between the local Perpetuum wine and Marsala is that Marsala is fortified with brandy - originally to make it durable for long sea voyages.
Effect on the colour
The different Marsala wines have different colours, ranging from dark amber to light brown tones. The barrels used for whisky production previously contained mostly sweet, dark Marsala, so Marsala maturations or post-maturations are usually darker than normal whiskies.
