Local producers are taking the indigenous grapes out of the Marsala blend to make artisanal table wines.

 A new generation of Sicilian winemakers is revolutionising Marsala, a fortified wine whose reputation has been damaged over the years by production of cheap blended wines, often used for cooking. 

The Marsala DOC, in the northwest corner of Sicily, stretches thirty kilometres north to south between Marsala and Trapani, two seaside towns that look similar but offer markedly different wine tourism experiences.

Both have their share of cobbled streets, Roman archways, Baroque cathedrals, and buildings painted in bright pastels. But while Marsala focusses on fortified nostalgia – you can visit the cellars of historic producers, discover the intricacies of the solera method and sample gold, amber and ruby wines in sweet and dry styles at myriad quaint wine bars – Trapani is rather more authentic. Its pedestrian street Vittorio Emmanuele is lined with seafood restaurants stocked with table wines from small, local producers. If you want to know what Inzolia, Grillo, Cataratto and Zibibbo taste like on their own, without brandy, this is the place for you.

This year I visited four producers who don’t make anything that is fortified and their bottles don’t bear DOC labels. At Azienda Agricola Millami, Fabio Morsello Angilieri told me that his grandfather introduced machines in the vineyard and made the base wines for Marsala, keeping back a little for bulk sales. When Fabio’s father took over he stopped making wine altogether and sold all the grapes to the local cooperative. Like many Sicilian producers in the 1980s, he followed the fashion of planting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Merlot.

Since taking over the family vineyards Fabio has slowly returned to the indigenous varieties, trained in the traditional gobelet or bush style. He prunes the vines short, maintaining the entire leaf wall to protect the grapes, and he works organically. Copper use is kept to a minimum and he only did a single preventive treatment with powdered sulphur in 2024, which he calls unthinkable in the Marsala region. 

Fabio’s winemaking vision was formed during apprenticeships in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Cévennes and Piemonte. In 2021 he returned home and replaced his grandfather’s concrete vats with stainless steel. He uses whole bunches and carbonic maceration for Nero d’Avola and Inzolia cuvées.

 Two friends of his, the Bertolino brothers, borrow part of the cellar for their own experiments. Salvatore is a podiatrist and Gabriele an electrician, but Azienda Agricola Bertolino is their passion. They are dedicated to plot selection and skin contact trials; one of their wines is called Fuitina, meaning to elope, which reflects their desire to pursue their winemaking dreams, they say.

Six kilometres north of Azienda Agricola Millami, on a hilltop with an unimpeded view of the sea, Fabio Ferracane makes white and orange wines from Cataratto and Grillo, with the length of maceration ranging from 24 hours to three weeks. Until this year, he worked from his father’s home but now he has a gleaming new facility.

These producers were influenced by Nino Barraco, a Marsala artisanal wine pioneer. Since most consumers continue to associate the Marsala DOC with fortified wine, and the Sicilia DOC is too broad to have any significance for artisanal producers, Cantine Barraco declassifies its wines and sells them as IGP products, as do the other winemakers I visited.

pictured: Nino Barraco

Many of the IGPs you’ll find in Trapani restaurants and wine bars cost more than the DOC wines. They typically come from producers whose families used to make the base wines for industrial Marsala. The current generation of artisan producers has opted for organic viticulture and dry-farming, preferring the indigenous varieties to Merlot and other international grapes planted by their grandfathers. Nino Barraco insists he hasn’t done anything new or revolutionary. He calls himself a pre-Marsala winemaker who loves what oxygen, rather than brandy, contributes to his wines.

 Four modern Marsalas to try

 Azienda Agricola Millami Il Folle. Nero d’Avola. Half the grapes are destemmed in this l2.5% ABV lightweight. Bursting with freshness and aromas of cherry and thyme. Imported to the UK by Naturally Wines.

Azienda Agricola Bertolino Nicuzza. This Grillo is named for a Sicilian serenade. It starts with acacia and tropical fruit notes, then finishes dry and crisp. Shipping to the UK is available through Raw Wine.

Azienda Agricola Fabio Ferracane Camaleonte. This rosé wine is composed of early-harvested Nero d’Avola, Grillo, Cataratto and a touch of Merlot. Musty, herbal, strongly acidic and bone dry. 80% of the bottles are sold in Japan.

Cantine Barraco Alto Grado 2016. Grillo undergoes a 48-hour maceration in a 1000-litre chestnut barrel, then is aged for 7 years. Porous chestnut allows for more evaporation than oak, leading to the development of flor and exquisite oxidative aromas of nuts, figs, orange peels and marzipan. An round, rich and saline creation worthy of cellaring. Imported to the UK by Tutto Wines.      

Andy James is a professor in the School of Commerce at Meiji University in Tokyo. His book Bandol Wine and the Magic of Mourvèdre was published in 2023. In addition to teaching English and wine business classes at Meiji he has established a summer study wine program at Curtin University in Perth