REDEFINING MARSALA: LAUNCH OF THE NEW FLORIO RANGE
Giacomo Tarquini
Global Marketing Director of the Duca di Salaparuta Group
1.What’s the core idea behind the launch of the new Florio Marsala range for the On Trade channel?
The idea originated from the company’s distinct desire to redefine the Marsala category per se. The long standing tradition of Florio Cellars entails the responsibility to protect fortified marsala wine from the imitations and usurpations which through the years have ridden roughshod over both domestic and foreign production. The whole new Florio marsala project centers on the cellar, the production hub, where during (and due to) the pandemic we had the chance to spend a lot of time, listening to, rediscovering and giving a new lexicon to a product that aims to be in equal parts innovative and traditionalist. The guise and storytelling of the new range are quite modern, capture an image that’s a cross between a fortified wine and a liqueur. Yet, its identity is rooted in the origins of Florio marsala, a marsala of great quality that’s always been a “superiore” one. So the genesis lay in redefining the category in an authentic way, with very much of a modern twist, to spark the interest of wine bars and restaurants as directly as possible thanks to a totally unique type of product versatility.
2. Oenologically, what are the features of the different marsalas in the new range, what’s the story on the new labels?
The range consists of three distinct lines for a total of ten products: Classic (four references: virgin Marsala, dry Marsala, semi dry Marsala, sweet Marsala), Premium (two references: virgin Marsala and semi dry Marsala), and Exclusive (four references: virgin Marsala, dry Marsala, semi dry Marsala, sweet Marsala). It has a modular aspect, for we gave the range a structure that enabled us to substitute a reference (once a particular vintage has run out) with what the cellar offers yet staying within the framework of the three lines.
Another important detail re the new Florio range concerns the bringing to marsala the matter of “angel’s share” we find in the world of spirits. What we’re talking about here is that share of product which evaporates during the years of aging; it’s an index of loss within the container which in the case of marsala represents a precious value of the concentration of what remains.
3. Wines “in love,” “angel’s share” and “listening theory”: the new marsalas show the public, maybe for the first time, an oenological world that also has philosophical and artistic veins. What’s the evocative force of Florio Marsala wines?
After spending a lot of time in the cellar, selecting and tasting the finest marsala wines in every season, it’s almost normal to get a human feel for the place. So we sought to sense the truest and most genuine quality of the cellar; and to convey it, we had to use new terms, not standard ones. Technically, from grape harvest to aging process, marsala is not a wine. Just think, to be a marsala it has to have the addition of alcohol. This addition we have called “falling in love”: it’s the moment when the alcohol and the wine join forces. Instead the “listening theory” is fundamental for our oenologist Tommaso Maggio, who during the harvest must be able to grasp the proper ripening of the grapes in order to send to the cellar a high-performance crop in terms of marsala making; likewise, during the preparation stage for the aging in barrique, he must envision how it could become a certain product in 20 years; and then afterward over time, in carrying out the aging process, he must keep making the right choices.
4. What are the company’s expectations as to this major launch?
The idea of redefining the category is the most ambitious of our long-term objectives. On a practical level, rather, we wanted to offer an exclusive line to the restaurant sector so that it could play with this kaleidoscope of products we’ve introduced, in confirmation of the fact that marsala is not simply a fortified wine to enjoy with dessert at the end of a meal, but can be a product perfect to pair with food or, comparably to whisky or rum, to drink as a nightcap.
Our thanks to Giacomo Tarquini for the interview, a true snapshot of the thinking behind the new range of Florio Marsala wines.
John Woodhouse, an English trader, lands in Marsala, Sicily. Here he falls under the spell of Sicilian wine: he purchases 60 412-liter barrels of it, to which he adds two gallons (9.08 l) of brandy. In other words, he fortifies the wine.
1773
Admiral Nelson, British Navy hero, decides to supply his fleet with Woodhouse’s Marsala, a wine «so good as to be worthy of adorning any gentleman’s table.»
1800
During the so-called “English decade” many British merchants move to Sicily. These merchants include Benjamin Ingham and his nephew Joseph Whitaker, who up until the mid 19th century report the world’s highest volume of Marsala sales.
1806 – 1815
1774
Aware of the British predilection for fortified wines such as Madeira and Porto, Woodhouse follows up the success of his first expedition in 1774 with a surge in exports; and from mere trader he becomes a wine industry entrepreneur, creating his “Factory Wine” in the area of Trapani.
1806
The continental blockade imposed by Napoleon indirectly favors Marsala wine, which prevails over other similar products such as Porto, Madeira and Jerez, which are no longer sold on the British market.
1833
Vincenzo Florio purchases the land on which Italy’s first Marsala winemaking company is established: it’s the beginning of Italian competition in the Marsala wine market, which subsequently leads to the development of requisite production technologies.
1773
John Woodhouse, an English trader, lands in Marsala, Sicily. Here he falls under the spell of Sicilian wine: he purchases 60 412-liter barrels of it, to which he adds two gallons (9.08 l) of brandy. In other words, he fortifies the wine.
1774
Aware of the British predilection for fortified wines such as Madeira and Porto, Woodhouse follows up the success of his first expedition in 1774 with a surge in exports; and from mere trader he becomes a wine industry entrepreneur, creating his “Factory Wine” in the area of Trapani.
1800
Admiral Nelson, British Navy hero, decides to supply his fleet with Woodhouse’s Marsala, a wine «so good as to be worthy of adorning any gentleman’s table.»
1806
The continental blockade imposed by Napoleon indirectly favors Marsala wine, which prevails over other similar products such as Porto, Madeira and Jerez, which are no longer sold on the British market.
1806 – 1815
During the so-called “English decade” many British merchants move to Sicily. These merchants include Benjamin Ingham and his nephew Joseph Whitaker, who up until the mid 19th century report the world’s highest volume of Marsala sales.
1833
Vincenzo Florio purchases the land on which Italy’s first Marsala winemaking company is established: it’s the beginning of Italian competition in the Marsala wine market, which subsequently leads to the development of requisite production technologies.
To learn more about the history of Florio Marsala, check out this link
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