Marsala: Winemaking and viticulture

Marsala has always been a fortified wine, but production techniques have changed over the decades and modern Marsala, as codified in the doc regulations of 1969, can be fortified only by adding grape spirit. Alcohol levels will also be slightly increased by mutage, creating a sweet so-called sifone by adding 20 to 25% of pure alcohol to a must of late-picked, overripe grapes. The viticulture of the zone has been considerably modified. Vines are trained on either wires or tendone systems rather than the traditional gobelet, and the traditional superior grapes of the region, grillo and inzolia, have been partially supplanted by the higher-yielding catarratto. This and enthusiastic irrigation has led to significant increases in yield (the DOC rules allow an excessively generous 10 tons/ha) and a corresponding drop in the grapes’ sugar levels. All these factors have led to poorer base wines, which has led to more routine sweetening and a loss of the intrinsic character of the wine itself, at its best when a dry Marsala Vergine.