Marsala wine has a fascinating history. It is said that in 1773, the English merchant John Woodhouse was searching for soda ash for soap production in England.
A storm forced him to dock in the port of Marsala, and in a tavern he was literally won over by the taste of the local wine. His business acumen later prompted him to bring a supply of this wine to the United Kingdom, adding brandy for its preservation. The success of Marsala was such that it even encouraged Lord Horatio Nelson to purchase large quantities of the wine for the sailors of his “Home Fleet.” At Trafalgar in 1805, Nelson also won with Marsala, which from that day on became “The Victory Wine.”
In 1806, another Englishman, Benjamin Ingham, arrived in Sicily in search of raw materials for his family’s textile business. Having also recognized the great potential of Sicilian wine, he opened a winery and began successfully exporting the product to the Americas and as far away as Australia.
