Marsala Wine

Marsala is a wine produced around the city of - funnily enough - Marsala, in Sicily. The type that you can buy in most countries nowadays is a fortified version of the original wine, very similar to Port or Sherry. Other than cooking dishes such as Chicken Marsala, you can also enjoy drinking the wine as an aperitif or as a dessert wine.

While Marsala typically contains between 15% to 20% alcohol, it all evaporates during the cooking process so you do not have to worry about the alcohol content of Chicken Marsala. The variety I have found most often is Marsala Superiore, which means it has been aged for at least two years. However, the gamut of Marsala ageing varies from minimal ageing to over 10 years of ageing.

In some countries, such as France, it is quite difficult to get proper Marsala wine. Rather, an aperitif flavoured with almond or egg is available, which uses Marsala as a base. If you ask for Marsala at a supermarket, you might be directed towards this product, so be sure to carefully verify the contents of the bottle.

I don't specifically recommend one brand of Marsala over another; I have usually been limited to just one variety on the shelf and I assume you will be limited similarly. With regards to the various types of Marsala - they can range from sweet to dry - you can use any of them. The difference will come through in the dish, perhaps. But it will be a subtle difference, and over time you might realize that you prefer Chicken Marsala with a slightly sweet, or Veal Marsala with a drier variety. Experiment!

Store your opened Marsala in a cool, dark place. No need to refrigerate, it won't go bad quickly. The taste changes subtly over time, but not in a major way.