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DOC that produces Italy’s most famous fortified wines. The DOC vineyards are located around the old seaside port city of Marsala on the western tip of Sicily. This area has a long history of making this style of fortified wine, going back to Roman times and later, during Spanish rule, when sherrylike wines were made here. In the late 1700s, however, an Englishman by the name of John Woodhouse devised today’s conventional techniques for making Marsala and subsequently developed its following in England. As with other fortified wines, like sherry and Madeira, much of a Marsala’s flavor comes from oxidation during aging. Marsala wines come in various styles—secco (dry), semisecco (semisweet), and dolce (sweet). The wines are initially vinified completely dry and must reach a minimum of 12 percent alcohol. Depending on the quality level, this dry wine may be supplemented with a concentrated must; a cooked, reduced must (called cotto or musto cotto) that acquires a carmelized flavor; and/or a mixture of grape alcohol and sweet must known as sifone (sometimes called mistella and similar to the French mistelle). The various quality levels for Marsala are Fine, superiore, superiore riserva, Vergine, and Vergine Stravecchio or Vergine riserva. Fine, which is the lowest level and the most commonly found, has a minimum alcohol level of 17 percent and requires 1 year of aging. superiore must have a minimum of 18 percent alcohol and 2 years aging in wood, and superiore riserva must have a minimum of 4 years of wood aging. superiore may also be called Giaribaldi Dolce (GD), London Particular (LP), or Superior Old Marsala (SOM). The highest-quality Marsala is Vergine, which may be fortified with grape alcohol but cannot have any concentrated must, cotto, or sifone added; it requires aging in wood for a minimum of 5 years. Vergine can be stravechhio or riserva, which must be aged in wood for a minimum of 10 years. Vergine wines are dry and austere with a distinctive caramel or toffee flavor and hints of smoked wood. dry Marsalas, especially the Vergine styles, are best served as apéritifs, whereas many of the semisweet and sweet styles are best as dessert wines. In 1984, the official terms of ambra (amber), oro (gold), and rubino (ruby) became optional additional descriptions for any of the Marsala wine’s quality levels. ambra and oro describe Marsala wines made from white grapes—Catarratto, Inzolia, grillo, and Damaschino. The addition of cotto is not allowed in the ambra versions. ambra wines darken as they age, turning from the paler yellowish hues, to gold, to amber. The term rubino describes Marsala wines made from red grapes—Perricone, Calabrese, and Nerello (though up to 30 percent of any of the aforementioned white grapes can also be used). Cremevo (Cremevo Zabaione vino Aromatizzato) is a wine made from 80 percent Marsala and other flavorings like coffee or egg and was once called Marsala Speciali.