BARREL AGED SPIRITS COLLECTION

Florio _113 BARREL-AGED SPIRITS COLLECTION

Florio Accounting Register

The financial resources of the merchant families acted as credit institutions for set ting up new businesses: loans and conces sions were granted so that new vineyards could be planted, specialised workers were recruited for barrel manufacturing, and improvements were made in logistics for transporting grapes from the fields to the “Factory Wine” and from there to the port of Marsala which, as a result of British invest ments and excise duties, became one of the leading ports in the Mediterranean region. However, the most striking result of the invention of Marsala was that it changed the very geography of the place. While in the late 1700s there were still uncultivated fields that were used for sheep grazing, by 1820 vineyards extended as far as the eye could see. As for the quality of the grapes, they were carefully monitored, selected and processed by one of the liveliest, most prof itable and technologically advanced wine industries in the world.

The proverbial donkey, now almost legend ary, on which John Woodhouse junior (the son of the inventor of Marsala wine, who took his name) used to ride around Trapani in pur suit of the finest local wines, giving out advice on viticulture and winemaking. The work of Benjamin Ingham was more scientific and, most importantly, well documented. In 1830 he began giving accurate instructions to his grape suppliers on how to “ameliorate” the quality of their musts. Ingham repeatedly stressed the importance of perfectly ripened grapes and excellent base wines: in fact, in 1837 he also wrote a circular entitled “Brevi istruzioni per la ven demmia all’oggetto di migliorare la qualità dei vini” (Brief instructions on harvest to im prove wine quality). This document is a de tailed guide containing advice on the harvest and processing of grapes, from pressing to fermentation, including the conservation of wines in so-called “stipe” (large barrels). FINE QUALITY Some of these “instructions” seem basic and obvious; in fact, they gave the impression that the winemaking region of Trapani was lagging behind and that the local farmers were reluctant to create “fine quality” wines. But they also show us the passion, expertise and massive effort made by the British mer chants in the Marsala area when it comes to entrepreneurship education.