BARREL AGED SPIRITS COLLECTION

Florio _112 BARREL-AGED SPIRITS COLLECTION

THE ENGLISH DECADE John Woodhouse “invented” Marsala, but it was the British who made it into something great. While the first shipments were well received, with the Woodhouse family starting a busi ness based on fortified wines, in the early 19th century an unprecedented opportunity arose for Sicilian wine to flourish. The war between France and England led Napoleon to enforce the Continental Blockade in 1806, banning British ships from docking in any French port. During the embargo, one of the few ports that remained open was Sicily, the stronghold of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon who, in 1806, fled to Palermo to escape from Napoleonic troops. Ferdinand IV accepted protection from the British who used their influence to turn Sicily into a strategic out post in the Mediterranean region. It was not just a military occupation, but a large-scale protectorate operation. The British presence permeated all aspects of social life in Sicily and profoundly influenced politics, culture, and particularly the local economy, which was completely changed by the new capital ist approach. The Continental Blockade also indirectly favoured Marsala, which was preparing to take the place of wines such as Porto, Ma deira and Jerez, which would have been cut off from British trade as they were under French influence. Dozens of English merchants arrived in

Sicily from 1806 onwards, eager to expand this new market. Among them was the mer chant Benjamin Ingham (1784-1861) with his nephew Whitaker, who managed to hold the record for Marsala sales in the world – at least until the mid-19th century – but who also played a prominent role in the political and cultural life of Sicily until well after the unification of Italy. AMELORIATING QUALITY With their rational, pragmatic and capitalist mindset, the British contributed to the pro duction of Marsala. Western Sicily, which was not yet industrialised, experienced a sudden paradigm shift. At least for the first few years, John Woodhouse simply pur chased and added alcohol to Sicilian wines and stored them; the new wave of English merchants wanted to produce Marsala on a larger scale, fighting competition not only on quantity, but also and especially on quality. Initially created as an imitation of Madeira, Marsala sought to emancipate itself and ac quire a more defined and unique personality. From the early 19th century, the British en trepreneurial spirit revolutionised and per fected the entire production chain of Marsa la, starting with viticulture. The Woodhouse and Ingham-Whitaker families were the first ones to worry about improving the quality of the harvests and established direct rela tionships with local growers.

A Marsala Woodhouse label