Marsala, an English story in Sicily

In 1773, on his way from England to Mazara del Vallo, John Woodhouse, aboard his ship Elizabeth, stopped in the port of Marsala (Mars-Allah, the port of God in Arabic) because of a storm.

An Englishman in Sicily

Here, waiting for the storm to pass, he had stopped in the town’s taverns and inns to taste a wine that local people called Pepetual reminded him Xeres and Port. It was a thick, fragrant wine that Woodhouse immediately saw as perfect for drinking in exclusive English clubs. So he decided to ship about fifty pipes, 420-liter barrels, to England, and to keep it from spoiling during the voyage, he thought to add about 2 percent brandy.

When he arrived in his homeland, the British immediately declared the success of this wine; Woodhouse therefore decided to stay in Marsala, where he began to acquire vineyards and land and to build the Baglio della Tonnara del Cannezzo and that one of Petrosino. The word “Baglio” may come from the Arabic “bahah”, meaning courtyard, or from the Latin “ballium”, meaning a courtyard surrounded by high walls. The English word ‘bailey’ is also derived from this word, and more accurately means the enclosing walls of a castle.