g/L). The color and ageing classifications are as follows: Ambra has an amber colour. The coloring comes from the mosto cotto sweetener added to the wine Fine is aged at least one year Oro has a golden colour Rubino has a ruby colour, made from red grape varieties such as Perricone, Nero d'Avola and Nerello Mascalese Superiore is aged at least two years Superiore Riserva is aged at least four years Vergine and/or Soleras is aged at least five years Vergine and/or Soleras Stravecchio and Vergine and/or Soleras Riserva is aged at least ten years Marsala wine was traditionally served as an aperitif between the first and second courses of a meal. Contemporary diners will serve its drier versions chilled with Parmesan (stravecchio), Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and other spicy cheeses, with fruits or pastries, and the sweeter at room temperature as a dessert wine. Marsala is sometimes discussed with another Sicilian wine, Passito di Pantelleria (Pantelleria Island's raisin wine). In cooking Marsala wine is frequently used in cooking, and is especially prevalent in dishes served in Italian restaurants in the United States. Dry Marsala wine is used in savory cooking. A typical savory Marsala sauce, for example, involves reducing the wine almost to a syrup with onions or shallots, then adding mushrooms and herbs. One of the most popular Marsala recipes is chicken marsala, in which flour-coated pounded chicken breast halves are braised in a mixture of Marsala, butter, olive oil, mushrooms, and spices. Marsala is also used in some risotto recipes. Sweet Marsala wine is used to produce rich Italian desserts such as zabaione and shortcake. See also Albanello Bianco, another Sicilian grape variety used to make a notable eighteenth-century Marsala-style wine Ambrato di Comiso. References Fortified wine Italian DOC Marsala Cuisine of Sicily Florio family Wines of Sicily