Talk:Marsala wine

Port v. marsala, and the use of eggs to clarify
Port is fortified wine shipped from the port of Oporto in Portugal. Marsala is a fortified wine but cannot be described as a Port, and therefore I have deleted the reference to it being a type of Port —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.254.91.194 (talk) 16:14, 31 December 2007 (UTC)

I'm sure the author of the following is well-informed, and I would be happy to add this information, but I don't understand what it means because the English is bad:


 * Marsala is instead typically addictioned with eggs (Marsala all'uovo), in conformity with an ancient tradition of fishermen.


 * Well, don't ask me how, but eggs (chicken eggs) are added to wine. I cannot tell you in which proportion or by which method, but they are eggs, and the result is particularly... interesting! ;-)
 * I'll try to know more, by now I presume to remember that it should be a similar preparing as zabajone's.
 * Sorry, not native - Gianfranco

I'm not asking how, I'm asking what you mean. Do you mean that it is a common dish to serve eggs with Marsala, or that eggs are somehow used in the production of the wine? The sentence gives me no clue which is meant. Yes, I know about Zabaglione, and I'll add something about that.


 * Egges are IN the wine. Mixed with the liquid. Therefore contained into the bottle. I don't know at what moment of the preparation, but there is a moment, before putting the wine into the bottle, in which egges are mixed with the wine.
 * Marsala all'uovo is a version of Marsala, not the main wine.


 * Wine production is severely regulated by law in Italy.
 * Since I don't know technical words in your language, I cannot translate the following list, that contains the elements to identify the Marsala wine; I do hope someone can.

MARSALA DOC

Regione : Sicilia

Zona di produzione : Marsala ed i comuni confinanti alle provincie di Trapani e Palermo, Agrigento.

Tipi: da dessert

Uve: Grillo, Catarratto, con una parte di Inzolia per i bianchi; Pignatello, Calabrese, Nerello per i Marsala rossi.

Gradazione alcolica: 17-18°

Colore: Ambrato carico, dorato chiaro nel Marsala Vergine. Rubino granato nei rossi.

Profumo: Ne Marsala fine ed in quello dolce, di carrubbe e liquerizia. Nel Superiore di uva passita. Nella Riserva e nel Vergine nettamente maderizzante con sentori di mandorla.

Sapore: Il Marsala Fine amabile, caldo. Nel Superiore corposo. Nel Riserva e Vergine morbido, armonico.

Bicchiere: da dessert.

Età ottimale: Per il Fine 1 anno. Superiore 2 anni. Riserva 4 anni. Vergine 5 anni. Stravecchio 10 anni.

Temperatura di servizio: Per il Marsala Vergine 12°C. per gli altri 16-18°C

Accostamenti: Il Vergine è un aperitivo. Il Fine e il Dolce per pasticceria. Il Superiore e la Riserva per dessert in genere. Prosit

Thanks; my Italian is pretty rusty, but the above seems to talk about different grades of the wine, what they are called, how long they're aged, what temperature to serve them at, and how they are typically used (with pastries, as an apertif, etc.) That may be interesting to add if I can manage a better translation. Doesn't mention anything about Marsala all'uovo; I'd like to hear some details about that. --Lee Daniel Crocker


 * I tried a quick google search, but I only found advertisings and an excerpt of a generical passage of the law.
 * I vini aromatizzati ed i marsala speciali possono essere qualificati:
 * a) "zabaglione" o "con uova", se contengono almeno 60 grammi di tuorlo di uovo fresco o congelato per litro;
 * b) "all'uovo", a condizione che siano aromatizzati con l'impiego delle materie aromatizzanti naturali estratte dal tuorlo d'uovo, mediante infusione alcoolica e successiva filtrazione,in quantità di almeno 10 grammi di tuorlo d'uovo fresco o congelato per litro e purché sulla confezione figuri anche l'indicazione "aromatizzato con sostanze naturali del tuorlo d'uovo" (si veda Decreto Presidente della Repubblica 12 febbraio 1965, art. 26).


 * Concisely, wine is flavoured with the red part of the egg (tuorlo), immersed in alchool and later filtered; a minimum of 10 grams of tuorlo is required per each wine litre.
 * When other spices too are added, it cannot be named Marsala all'Uovo and is commercially called Cremovo.

i am going down to the zones in the next days... and i have *never* heard of this egg stuff!! but i will ask ... some people from mazara, marsala and around trapani. and will find if there is sth more. Zisa - (gianf. i thought you were native...do you mean u r extraisolana??) i'll post it then here if i get sth...
 * extraisolano, caso mai :-)
 * I'm only a continental roman, a civis romanus I'd like.
 * When I was 12-14 y.o. (unfortunately, very long ago), I was "forced" to taste it in Trapani, while with my family we were touring for the islands. Then I found it again in Rome many years later, and for a while we used it as an afternoon alternative to Rosso Antico (do you remember this?).
 * I perfectly remember its taste, it really cannot be confused with anything else. After this talk, one of these days I'll try to find it again.
 * When you are there, try to find it and do taste it. Be proud of fine traditions :-)))

okay... sorry a/o ... (was writing in ita, esp and eng in the same time) ... i will find that and try it. me traditional...? isolana but in the continent and for many i'm not even isolan (perfect translation...) but an uncomprensible mix (latin with a northern apparance) (that's how the Mulattabianca story got its name). from no place in this world... from *The* island when i'm not there and from elsewhere when i am there. i will find it ... and try it. anything i should bring... ?? :-) Zisa


 * Bring with yourself the joy of being there, Sicily is really enchanting with this weather. When are zagare expected flourishing?
 * And for the wine, it's quite strong so bring something to eat, cakes perhaps (I miss them too - not to mention ice cream, the sicilian way). Be careful, Cremovo is spiced, it's not the original one.
 * Enjoy your stay. Salutiamo :-) Gianfranco

allora, tornata... non ne ho sentito di questo vino con l'uovo ... e ho chiesto... a marsala marsala non ci sono passata ma ad alcamo, tp, pa ecc non lo trovai... :-( Zisa

I believe the egg whites are added to clarify the wine... see Vegetarian Journal only a trace amount of the agg actually remains in the finished wine.


 * That may or may not be true of Marsala itself. Marsala all'uovo is something different. The egg yolks are actually added to the wine, as described by Gianfranco above. I know that from laboriously translating the label.


 * I first came across Marsala all'uovo in the 1950s in a small wine merchant's in Old Compton Street, London. It was slightly cheaper than sherry or port and the flavour was gorgeous and extremely rich. I tried to get it again a couple of years ago. The wine merchant's was still there but the only stuff they had was inferior, including one cremovo (see Gianfranco above). Maybe they've got some better stuff in by now.


 * In short, Gianfranco knows what he is talking about, if you can understand him, and there should certainly be a mention of Marsala all'uovo within the article. Brumel (talk) 13:11, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

--- I cannot insert this on the subject page as it would be 'original research', but there were at least three flavours of Marsala in the 60s; with egg (all'uovo) with coffee (all'caffè?) and with almonds (all'mandorla?). Sadly my Italian will not let me investigate this further. I searched for these variants a few years ago and drew a blank, but perhaps someone else can use these hints to improve the article. Old Aylesburian (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 09:32, 7 June 2021 (UTC)

Vov
Seems to me like a lot of the above is perhaps referring to vov, the generic & brand name of an egg & marsala concoction, essentially a drinkable zabaglione. (Zabov is apparently a similar competitor.)  If anyone knows anything more about this stuff, it'd be great if they could both add info to this page, and perhaps the zabaglione page, or maybe even start a Vov (liqueur) page. (BTW, the only place I've ever seen vov in the US is at Caffe Trieste in SF, and I never did try it. Certainly sounds interesting though.) - Severinus 21:24, 30 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Vov and Zabov look interesting but are clearly different from Marsala all'uovo. Marsala all'uovo is a fortified wine, like sherry, port, madeira and marsala itself. Vov and Zabov seem to be more like a liqueur than a wine. From what Gianfranco says above, it appears that the name 'marsala all'uovo' is protected by statute like 'sherry' etc. and is not the property of any particular brand. Vov and Zabov seem to be brand names and I would presume they are only protected by normal commercial law. Brumel (talk) 13:49, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

WP:WINE assessment
I am taking the assessment back down to a start level and will explain in more detail here why I believe it currently deserves that rating. While I certainly appreciate the good faith efforts to the improve the article, it still has a ways to go before it should be considered a B. As a project, the Wine Project is trying to get our articles closer to the level laid out in the Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Assessment as an "Example B article" -Jammu and Kashmir. Comparing this article to Jammu and Kashmir and it is like night and day. But to be more specific, in order for this article to approach B class it needs.... Some examples of Wine Project B class include Fermentation (wine), Oak (wine), Loire Valley (wine), etc. While I have no doubt that Marsala can get there, and fully intend to contribute once other articles have been worked on, I just don't think it would be appropriate to consider this article a B article at this time. AgneCheese/Wine 16:54, 24 December 2007 (UTC)
 * More fully developed WP:LEAD that serves as summary of the article's contents.
 * Expanded development on the winemaking procedures to help further distinguish what makes a different style, different.
 * A section on wine regions, Marsala is unique because of the unique area or terroir that it comes from.
 * Tighter prose. Far too often we see one line paragraphs. These need to be merged together in more fully developed paragraph structure.
 * That's fair. Thanks for the feedback, and I will continue working to improve this article. -- Friejose (talk) 16:47, 26 December 2007 (UTC)
 * I recategorized for Food & Drink as well to start. --Friejose (talk) 17:09, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

The Whitaker Family

I would like to know more about this family and their role in the Marsala trade? As I understand it, they were from West Yorkshire and were shippers. Joseph Whitaker built a villa in Sicily. Can anyone give me more info. about previous Whitakers before Joseph and about their commercial background? Ivankinsman (talk) 11:01, 24 July 2010 (UTC)

Poor title?
The title "Marsala DOC" makes little send to most people whoa re searching the web for information on the wine. I think "Marsala wine" is much better. (Yes, it does redirect.) The problem was that the main page is what gets spidered by Google and I saw "Marsala DOC" above "Marsala" when I was searching, but I had no clue as to what "Marsala DOC" was. So it took me a trip to the "Marsala" page, then scrolling to the bottom to the "Marsala wine" link, which then brought me back to a page entitle "Marsala DOC"

I suggest changing the title of the page to "Marsala wine" or "Marsala (wine)" and having :Marsala DOC" redirect to it. Ccady (talk) 01:48, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

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