Even though the island of Sicily is Italy's third largest wine producing area, the sad truth is that most Sicilian red wines are watery and many of the whites are so acidic that most people consider them sour. Although some of the wineries in the more mountainous areas are beginning to produce some exciting wines , the vast majority of wines from the island remain so mediocre that nearly all of the Sicilians who can afford it "import" their wines from Tuscany, Piedmont or even Calabria. Even California wines have become popular in cities such as Palermo and Enna. The one local wine that locals do not avoid is Marsala, a fortified wine in the same category as Port, Sherry and Madeira. So highly respected is Marsala that even the French and the Californians buy it. Oddly enough, nearly all of sixty million bottles of Marsala that are exported every year are used in cooking. Long considered the perfect wine for making the sweet dessert known as zabalione and for making sauces, most Frenchmen, Englishmen and Americans have never realized that the best examples of this wine make marvellous before or after dinner drinks.

Based on Catarratoand Grillo grapes and sometimes blended with Inzolia grapes, Marsala is made in much the same way as Port wine. Thick, generally somewhat sweet and with an alcohol level that varies between 17 - 20%, the best examples of this wine have a dark, brownish red color. Rather than a true bouquet, these wines always have the marked aroma of caramel.

Marsala comes in four different grades, fini, superiori, virgini and speciali. With only a few exceptions fini wines, which are aged for only four months, are coarse, very sweet and have a burned caramel flavor and truly are appropriate only for cooking. Superiori wines, on the other hand are aged for at least two years in oak casks, are smoother and many, including those made by Bartolli, Rallo and Pellegrino make for comfortable sipping. The very best, and justifiably expensive Marsala wines are the virgini, which, are made by blending young wines with very old wines, so that every bottle will contain at least a tiny quantity of the wine from the 1767 vintage. Both superiori and Virgini wines can be either sweet or dry and both have a strong caramel flavor.

One should be aware however, that no matter how much one pays for even the finest Marsala, it will lack the brilliant finesse of a truly fine Sherry wine or Port wine. As to those Marsala wines labeled speciali, wines that are blended with eggs, strawberries, cherries or even coffee, I concur with English wine writer Hugh Johnson's evaluation that these are "strange aberrations, more worth laughing at than drinking".

A Classic Dessert Based on Marsala

To make the classic Italian dessert, Crema Zabailone, place water in the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a gentle boil. In a glass bowl place 4 egg yolks and 3 Tbsp. of sugar and mix these with a wooden spoon, mixing always in the same direction, until the sugar is completely absorbed and the egg yolks turn a light color. To this slowly add 1/2 cup of Marsala wine mixing regularly and then transfer the mixture to the top part of the double boiler. Place this over the bottom part of the double boiler and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, always in the same direction, just until it is on the verge of boiling and then remove the top part of the double boiler from the heat. Under no circumstances allow the mixture to boil! Continue to stir for 2 -3 minutes longer and then transfer the mixture to a ceramic or glass bowl to cool (about 1 hour).

After the mixture has cooled pour 2 cups of cold sweet cream into a glass bowl and beat by hand or with an electric mixer until it is begins to become solid. Add 2 Tbsp. of sugar and continue to beat until the sweet cream is very stiff. Add 1 more tsp. of sugar and beat just until the sugar is incorporated. Gently fold in the cooled Marsala mixture and mix very carefully but thoroughly with a whisk. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve. To serve, spoon the mixture into chilled dessert bowls. The recipe will serve 6 - 8.