Ice Wine Marsala White Blend Austria Burgenland

Marsala is a well known fortified wine from Italy’s largest island, Sicily. A largely misunderstood and undervalued fortified wine, it is most commonly associated with its sweet variety - usually used as a cooking wine - although the finest dry Masalas are able to stand up to more revered, similar wines such as Sherry and Madeira. Marsala has been made in Sicily since the mid 18th century, and it grew wildly popular around Europe as sailors introduced it to port towns across the continent. Marsala wine has a beautiful set of flavors, most typically including apricot, tamarind, vanilla and tobacco, making it a delightfully intense treat when served as a sipping wine.



Marsala wine comes in several different varieties, and most of them are a world away from the sweet wines used in sauces and chicken dishes. Amber, golden and ruby versions of Masala are produced, from a range of different native grape varietals, and many of the finest are aged for over ten years to achieve a fascinating set of complex flavors and a remarkably smooth finish. It is usually made from the Grillo, Inzolia, Damaschino and Catarratto white grapes, although the ruby Masala wines uses typical Sicilian red varietals such as Nero d’Avola and Calabrese, among others.

Archaeological evidence suggests that grapevines have been grown and cultivated in what is today modern Austria for over four thousand years, making it one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world. Over the centuries, relatively little has changed in Austrian wine, with the dominant grape varietals continuing to be Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir and others. Austria is renowned for producing excellent and characterful dry white wines, although in the eastern part of the country, many wineries specialist in sweeter white wines made in a similar style to those of neighboring Hungary. Today, Austria has over fifty thousand hectares under vine, split over four key wine regions. The domestic wine industry remains strong, with Austrians drinking their local produce outside in the summer, and people around the world are beginning to once more rediscover this fascinating and ancient wine culture.

Austria is a fascinating and ancient wine producing country, which once was heralded by the royal families and aristocracy of Europe as one of the finest and most important centers of viticulture in the world. Indeed, the wines of this central European country are home to many of the most surprising and seductive wines available today, and the eastern region of Burgenland is perhaps one of the finest regions Austria has. Whilst most of Austria is renowned for its off-dry and flavorful white wines, Burgenland is home to the country's red wine producers, with vineyards there being full of Pinot Noir, Zwiegelt and Blaufrankisch grapes, resulting in a wide palate of delicious and juicy reds. This is perhaps due to the relatively large amounts of sunshine and heat the region enjoys each year, and the proximity to one of the country's largest lakes, which helps red grapes reach their full potential.