Like Madeira last week, Marsala is a fortified wine that can be either dry or sweet. It is produced in Sicily and was first popularised by English merchant John Woodhouse in 1773. On a visit to Sicily, he came across a fortified wine that was aged for lengthy periods in oak barrels. It reminded him of sherry, Port and Madeira, all very popular in England at the time. He began importing the wine into England and it too sold very well – so well that Woodhouse returned to Sicily, planted vineyards, and began making his own fortified wine in the Sicilian port city of Marsala.

Several other English and Italian entrepreneurs also began producing Marsala, which subsequently became popular in the US as other countries.

Dry Marsala was and is drunk with strong cheeses or between courses as a trou normand, or a pause. Sweet Marsala is served with desserts or as a digestif after the meal. Marsala is 15-20 per cent in alcohol, and so is served in small portions. It can be labelled secco (dry, but actually still quite sweet), semisecco, and sweet. It is made from three local grapes: grillo, inzolia and catarratto. Good Marsala is a very fine drink. The best are probably riservas which are bottled after 10 years of ageing.

Marsala also became a very popular as a cooking ingredient in both sweet and savoury dishes in Italian restaurants in the US. The best-known are chicken Marsala, zabaglione and tiramisu. Generally, less expensive Marsala is used for cooking.