Cantine Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Old Dry 18%

Description

Cantine Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Old Dry is an aged, dry (or Secco) style of Marsala, perfect as an aperitif (or a dessert wine if you don’t like them too sweet) or as an ingredient in Italian savoury dishes like chicken or veal Marsala. For cooking desserts, use a sweeter Marsala like the Pellegrino Garibaldi Dolce.

Marsala, The Fortified Wine of Sicily

Unlike other fortified wines, the creation of Marsala can be pinpointed to one man, an Englishman, John Woodhouse. Woodhouse was a connoisseur of Port, Madeira and Sherry and, when he arrived in the city of Marsala in 1770, it wasn’t long before he thought to try fortifying the local wines. In 1773, he added 8 litres of grape brandy to 400 litre barrels of wine, shipped it to England, and, effectively, Marsala was born. Marsala first received Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status in 1969.

One of Only Three Marsala Houses

Today, Cantine Pellegrino, along with their competitors Cantine Florio, are recognised as the two top Marsala producers. Cantine Pellegrino came a little after Woodhouse. It was established in 1880 by Paolo Pellegrino and the company today remains in family ownership (one of only 2 to do so) and is one of only 3 Marsala houses founded in the 19^th century that is still in existence.

Marsala Wine Styles

Marsala wines come in a wide variety of styles, differing mainly in sweetness (from dry secco to semi-sweet semisecco and sweet dolce), ageing (often using a solera-like “in perpetuum” system similar to Sherry for blending and complexity, or static ageing in single casks), and ageing duration (from a minimum of 1 year for Fine up to 10+ years for premium Vergine/Stravecchio).

Most Marsala is produced from white grapes, resulting in golden (oro) or amber (ambra) colours, but a rarer ruby (rubino) style is made from red grapes. Pellergrino produce a rubino Marsala called Uncle Joseph.

Marsala Wine Production

Marsala Wine Production begins with a base wine: for drier styles, grapes are fermented to dryness; for sweeter ones, unfermented grape must is used or fermentation is halted early. The wine is then fortified with neutral grape spirit (or sometimes aged brandy) to boost alcohol to 15–20% ABV, and may include additions like mosto cotto (cooked must) for colour and sweetness in certain types. This creates a versatile, long-lived fortified wine perfect for sipping or cooking!

Read more about Marsala wines here.

Cantine Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Old Dry

• Cantine Pellegrino Marsala Superiore Old Dry is bottled as Superior Old Marsala Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC).
• Produced from indigenous Sicilian varieties Grillo, Catarratto and Inzolia.
• Grapes are sourced from vineyards surrounding Marsala and Mazara del Vallo in the province of Trapani.
• After vinification the wine is fortified with grape spirit.
• The wine is aged in oak for 2 years.
• This wine is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans.