Cantine Florio
A British mistake that turned into a Sicilian success story: what began as a failed attempt at sherry ended up being one of Italy’s most famous wines.
When Vincenzo Florio founded his winery on the west coast of Sicily in 1833, he wanted to create the world’s best Marsala. The origins of this wine, named after the harbour town of Marsala, can be traced back to a pure coincidence. In 1773, when a British merchant in Sicily tried to make imitation sherry, the wine he created was not sherry but something with an identity all its own. While the English took advantage of this happy accident to supply their colonies with wine, Florio recognised the true potential of Marsala and brought it to mainland Italy and the rest of Europe with his own merchant fleet – and thus Marsala became a legend.
And the Cantine Florio estate, built on two hectares of porous tuff (lava rock), is at the heart of this legend. The winery is home to over 3,000 Slavonian oak barrels, subjected to the salty sea air and varying climate. Barrels kept close to the sea yield milder and more elegant wines, while those sheltered from it yield bolder and more concentrated Marsala.
Tommaso Maggio
Master winemaker
