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The Cru Artisan College Study Guide 15 Excerpts taken from the Italian Wine Scholar Manual Grape variety: 100% Grillo Region/ Denomination: Sicily, Marsala DOC Vineyards: Coastal strip of the towns of Marsala, Petrosino and other inland areas of the province of Trapani. Terre rossa soils, low in fertility and rich in silica. Winemaking: Extraordinarily ripe grapes with a high sugar content are harvested by hand. Fermentation takes place at controlled temperature and the resulting wine is blended with fortified must, cooked must and wine-brandy. Matured at least 7 years in oak barrels. Region: Sicily Winemaking: Crafted from a number of herbs and spices, including:aloe, cardamom, myrrh, cinnamon, saffron and mint. Spices are infused with water and alcohol and maceratefor two weeks, achiev- ing an aromatic harmony. After maceration, the redolent infusion is blended with water, sugar and caramel and then aged for a few weeks to form the perfect union, Florio Fernet. Cantine Florio Targa Riserva 1840 Cantine Florio Fernet MOSTO COTTO, SIFONE AND MOSTO CONCENTRATO Mosto cotto is cooked grape must used to impart darker color and to add aromas such as burnt sugar and caramel. Sifone (or mistella) is sweet forti - fied grape must made from late-harvest grapes mixed with alcohol. Sifone pro- vides sugar, texture and aromas. Mosto concentrato is concentrated grape must used to add smoothness and to adjust the final sweetness level. It is falling out of favor. Note that grape spirit (acqiavite), ethyl alcohol, mosto cotto, sifone and mosto concentrato must all be made from grapes grown within the Marsala DOC. Marsala Superior must be matured in wood barrels for at least two years. The riserva designation requires four years in wood. Marsala Fine is matured for at least one year. Eight months of that year must be spent in wood. Most Marsala Fine is used as a cooking ingredient. MARSALA CLASSIFICATION BASED ON COLOR AND RESIDUAL SUGAR The disciplinare classifies Marsala Superiore and Marsala Fine by color and by level of residual sugar. The color is determined by the grapes (white or red) and the proportion of mosto cotto used in the concia. Three different colors can be indicated on labels: Oro (yellow-golden color): Only white grapes are allowed. The addition of mosto cotto is forbidden. Ambra (amber color): Only white grapes are allowed and the proportion of mosto cotto must at least 1%. Rubino (ruby-red color): A minimum of 70% red grapes is mandatory. The addition of musto cotto is forbidden. The classification based on residual sugar recognizes three levels of sweetness: Secco (dry): less than 40 g/l Semisecco (semi-dry): between 40 and 100 g/l Dolce (sweet): more than 100 g/l Note that some Marsala Vergine labels also use the designations of "oro" and "secco."