Marsala

A sweet fortified wine, 'invented' in 1773 by English merchant John Woodhouse who found that the local wine aged in oak barrels reminded him sherry and madeira. Similarly fortified with brandy, Woodhouse suspected it would tickle British taste buds and could be safely exported by sea to the far ends of the British Empire. Bingo. It was a huge success. He was followed by another pioneer, Benjamin Ingham, who founded Ingham Whitaker & Co in 1812.

In the 1830s, Woodhouse's firm was purchased by Vincenzo Florio, and in itne 1920s the whole lot was bought by Cinzano. Still known as Florio, it remains one of the two big Marsala producers, along with Pellegrino. Along with Sicily's other wines, it's currently making something of a comeback after decades of being thought of only as a wine cooks swill in the kitchen, especially since the once groovy chicken marsala has gone the way of prawn cocktails and grilled grapefruit.