l t o r a d o
the history of altograde
“Vecchio Marsala”—known among farmers as Altogrado or Stravecchio—is an oxidative wine produced on the western coast of Sicily, where winemaking traditions are intertwined with the island’s millennia-old history.
Although its modern form-the one known as Marsala-was shaped by the British in the 18th century through fortification with alcohol, its true heart lies in the original, more ancestral version: the Perpetual.
1773
The English merchant John Woodhouse docked in Marsala and tasted this traditional oxidative wine, which reminded him of some of the great wines of the time already available in his homeland, such as Port, Madeira, and Sherry. Immediately recognizing its potential, he decided to ship a small quantity to the United Kingdom, but not before adding a little brandy to it. Thus Marsala was born.
During the 19th century, Marsala became popular in England, so much so that it was chosen as the official drink of Admiral Nelson’s fleet. The British families Ingham and Hopps also invested in the production and export of fortified Marsala, contributing to its international spread.
1833
Italian Vincenzo Florio began to invest in the production of Marsala and in half a century changed the economic face of the west coast of Sicily forever.
From the beginning of the twentieth century, Marsala production expanded, leading to an industrial standardization of the product.
1980
Marco De Bartoli of Marsala resumed pre-British winemaking traditions and in 1980 for the first time bottled an oxidative wine-that is, aged in wooden barrels without filling. To produce it, he uses the soleras system, a variation of the perpetual method with 3 levels of stacked barrels.
2009
Nino Barraco first presents “Old Marsala” without using the perpetual or soleras method-so without blending multiple vintages-but making an oxidative “vintage” wine from single vintage and single grape variety with 7 years of aging in small barrels: his Altogrado.
2024
Today, Barraco produces Altogrado using all the native grape varieties it grows, reaffirming its commitment to promoting this precious cultural heritage and giving it the value and dignity it deserves.
