The creation of a fortified wine tending towards infinity such as a Florio Marsala wine is the outcome of a combination of different factors, among which the ‘Angel’s Share’ plays an essential role.

If you have never heard of it, the Angel’s Share is the amount of liquid evaporated from wooden barrels during the ageing of Marsala, and is an indicator of value.

Why this part that went to the angels is so important in creating the organoleptic profile of Florio Marsala wines we will discover together in this article. So, stay focused!

Florio wine cellars are the scene of many love stories

Their origin is based on the perfect synergy between a unique territory and the vineyard.

We are among the vineyards facing the sea in Marsala, where the saltiness laps the vines under the harsh Sicilian sun, starting the organoleptic journey of Grillo. But this is just the beginning of a journey that will reach its destination, Marsala, thanks to the sugar content resulting from a late harvest and the intuitive work of the oenologist in the wine cellar.

Indeed, to make Marsala, an extremely dynamic winemaking technique is applied. Instinctive management of fermentation temperatures, continuously checked ageing on the lees, and the careful shifting of liquids from one area to another in the wine cellars give the Marsala wines, which rest here, different evolutionary profiles and their unmistakable character.

Hence, the Florio wine cellars cherish endless stories of travels, discovery and, above all, love. And it is precisely a ‘loving encounter’ that is used to describe the fusion of wine and alcohol. This union, which is the first step in making Marsala, marks the beginning of a long period of ageing in this ‘enchanted forest’, where fine oak vats, barrels and kegs in varying sizes are smoothly lined up in an arrangement that continuously changes during this period, according to the oenologist’s instincts.

At this point of the ageing stage, the Angel’s Share, an essential part of the evolutionary process of a fortified wine, takes place.

The Angel’s Share quantifies the value of listening in winemaking

Housed in oak barrels, part of the Marsala tends to evaporate during its lifetime.

The amount of alcohol that evaporates under the vaulted ceilings of the Florio wine cellars is, indeed, the Angel’s Share.

This occurs because during the ageing process, Marsala is in symbiosis with the wine cellar environment, breathing in outdoor air, changing physically and evaporating according to the temperature, humidity and size of the barrel housing it.

The Angel’s Share of Marsala is proportional to the increase in temperature in the wine cellars and to the length of time it remains in the wooden barrel, whereas it is inversely proportional to the size of the container. By choosing the precise location and the size of the barrel or vats where the Marsala is to be aged, the oenologist adjusts the liquid substance to determine the Angel’s Share of fortified wine, just as a sculptor creates his work of art.

The Angel’s Share therefore demonstrates the uniqueness of the creative and profoundly human Marsala winemaking method, focused on its finest organoleptic expression pursued by the oenologist on a daily basis in the barrel cellars. Necessarily following his intuition, he explores new sensory compositions over a long journey marked by decades and by the distance from the sea.

The labels of the new Florio Marsala wines reveal the creative process

Born in a ‘voluminous oak garden’, rich in olfactory sensations arising from the evaporated parts of Marsala wines undergoing ageing, the new Marsala Selection wines originate from a very specific project: to describe on the label the crucial stages involved in creating this liquid art and the long journey in the Florio wine cellars during ageing, even before experiencing the sensations they evoke in the glass.

If Marsala wine is, indeed, the outcome of a journey comprising countless harmonies amongst different elements such as grape pressing, the so-called ‘concia’ (the practice of adding cooked must to the wine), the loving encounter between wine and alcohol, the choice of barrels, the ageing environment, and the years of maturation, why not highlight the crucial aspects of this story?

On their label, the 10 gems of the new Classic, Premium and Exclusive lines recount, on a map, the routes they have taken in the Florio wine cellars. They also reveal the winemaking project of origin, with precise details of the year of the ‘concia’, maturation in barrels, the type of Marsala and, of course, the Angel’s Share.

Are you curious to learn more? You can find the new Florio Marsala wines on Duca.Store, to experience the outstanding winemaking value of the true gems of Florio’s liquid art.