Florio and Marsala are one essence and yet now, in our wine cellars that have shaped the history of Marsala throughout the world, the first Vino Florio has also been bottled. The initial form of Grillo grapes from the coasts of Trapani, presented at Vinitaly 2023, this white wine is destined to surprise. Read on and discover why.

Origin in a bottle

Florio has created a white wine. The decision for this wine to be bottled at our iconic wine cellar symbolic of Marsala did not happen by chance, nor was it simply motivated by a desire to give connoisseurs a new wine experience that could offer a personal and typical version of Grillo. On the contrary, it is a coherent part of an important cultural project based on making Marsala and promoting it. We can call it a piece of the puzzle, which Florio has decided to share.

Vino Florio has always existed, it is as old as the Florio wine cellars, since it is the base of our Marsala wines. Yet until a few months ago, it remained hidden, guarded by our wine cellars and known to few.
But how exactly does Vino Florio fulfil the great winemaking project that is Marsala?

Let’s start at the beginning

In the coastal vineyards of Marsala, an art involving agriculture and the sea shapes the grapes and provides fruit laden with marine scents. The same art exploits the blazing Sicilian sun to increase the sugar content of the grapes and make them grow succulent, allowing all parts of the fruit to fully ripen, from the stems to the seeds and the skin. This totally natural farming practice results in a grape with a high polyphenol content.

It is the courage to dare in the vineyard, with the late harvest, that marks the organoleptic journey of a future Grillo with an ‘evolutionary’ character, the Grillo of Florio Marsala wines. The grapes are harvested only when they have reached the perfect stage of over-ripeness, and are then taken to the wine cellar.
Here, in the privacy of the ‘baglio’ (fortified estate), the extremely artisanal winemaking process begins, which involves a vigorous extraction technique using a traditional wine press. The sole aim is to steal the essence from the Grillo grapes and transfer it to musts laden with colour, with their exceptional marine savouriness.

The creative process continues with fermentation in concrete tanks, involving irregular oxygenation set by the oenologist. By listening at every step, he recognises and waits for the timing of individual processes to create a rich wine with a high alcohol content and an intense bouquet of saltiness and flower-filled fields: Vino Florio..

The first evolutionary step: Vino Florio

This white wine is nothing more than the initial evolutionary form of Grillo from the Marsala coast. It is ready to embrace alcohol in a loving encounter, and begin its long journey of ageing, involving geographical aspects and journeys in our wine cellars – determined by specific creative winemaking choices – and destined to create our Marsala wines.

Hence, Vino Florio is the first liquid form created by the Florio wine cellars that will become Marsala. Florio decided to bottle it before its ‘loving encounter’ with alcohol, so that also those who do not spend every day in the wine cellars would learn all about this extraordinary wine, whose unparalleled organoleptic qualities have long been tasted by those who walk among the aisles on a daily basis. Vino Florio is therefore the key piece that was missing in order to tell the story of Marsala in its entirety.

As it is bottled in very limited quantities, Florio wine cellars let you discover something exclusive.

Vino Florio Tasting

An unfiltered white wine with a bright and vibrant yellow colour, constantly developing its organoleptic qualities according to time and space, but which can also acquire different nuances depending on your mood. Just like every Florio Marsala wine, its evolutionary character transforms it into a glass of wine that exhilarates and tells its story, but from various perspectives depending on who is tasting it.
With its verticality and appeal, it is reminiscent of the sea, of orange blossom and jasmine, bringing Sicily to your soul. On the palate, it is full-bodied and extreme savoury.
An unusual white wine, a Grillo that was an intimate creation until recently and is now ready to captivate anyone who tastes it.

Are you looking forward to tasting this white wine reminiscent of the sea and flower-filled fields? You can find it on Duca.Store