Everything began more than two hundreds years ago, when an English businessman whose name is now history - John Woodhouse, son of a merchant of Liverpool - who in 1773 was forced, because of a storm, to land with his ship Elizabeth in the port of Marsala. In that occasion the young John Woodhouse drunk the wine which was produced in the area and he realized it had many similarities with other renowned and appreciated wines of those times: Jerez (Sherry), Madeira and Port. He understood he could make profits from the trading of that wine and he decided to send to his homeland England fifty pipes of 4 hectoliters each. Before shipping the wine, Woodhouse added some alcohol to the wine in order to make it more resistant to the stress of the journey and he stayed in Marsala waiting for the result. Like he predicted, the wine was successful and John Woodhouse started a profitable production of this wine and therefore writing his name in the pages of Italian enology's history. After his success, some Italian families began the production of Marsala wine, among them - and among the most important ones for the history and development of this great wine - there is Carlo Pellegrino.

The Nave Punica hall in the historical cellars at Marsala

 Carlo Pellegrino was established in 1880 at Marsala by Paolo Pellegrino, notary and viticulturist. It was the beginning of the enterprise which led the winery to become nowadays successful worldwide with its wines. Paolo Pellegrino, with the help of his son Carlo - notary and agronomist - was successful in transforming the winery, established as a family business, and in few years become one of the most flourishing wine industries of Marsala. When his father passed away, Carlo took his place and with the help of his wife Josephine Despagne, a French gentlewoman daughter of wine maker Oscar Pierre Despagne, who brought to the winery the experience and knowledge of her family which was from Sauternes. The winery continued its expansion even in the next generations and Paolo Pellegrino, son of Carlo and Josephine, become the winery's director of management and with the help of his brother-in-law Vincenzo Alagna, they were successful in marketing their wines in the most important countries of the world. The production headquarter was expanded and in the 1930's the area occupied by the winery was increased threefold.

 Today Carlo Pellegrino owns three operational units, including the historical cellar in Marsala, with a total capacity of 200,000 hectoliters (of which 40,000 in oak casks), a second vinification cellar, in contrada Cardilla, downtown Marsala, with a capacity of 7,000 hectoliters. In 1992 Carlo Pellegrino winery has established a third cellar in Pantelleria island, equipped with the most modern technologies for wine making, and that allowed the revaluation of the famous wines Moscato and Passito di Pantelleria. This wines expand the production range besides the historical Marsala wines and interesting table wines produced with the “Duca di Castelmonte” branding. In the course of its history, from 1880 up to nowadays, Carlo Pellegrino winery has experienced a continuous growth up to becoming one of the most important wine industries of Sicily, not only for the production and commercialization of Marsala, but also for Pantelleria and table wines, both DOC and IGT. The winery has today 66 employees and produces more than 7,000,000 bottles per year, with an income that in 2003 reached 19 millions euros. Among the main foreign countries in which Carlo Pellegrino is present there is Great Britain, Switzerland, France, Germany, Canada, United States of America, Japan and South Korea.

	The winery of Pantelleria at contrada Kuddie Rosse

 As for production, Marsala wines represent 24% of total income, Pantelleria wines 20%, table wines 39%, whereas the remaining 17% is represented by Sicilian sweet wines: Zibibbo, Malvasia and Moscato liquoroso IGT. The winery systems for quality management and environmental management are respectively certified as ISO 9001/2000 and ISO 14001. The family farms occupy an area of more than 300 hectares (740 acres) in the area of Gazzerotta, Kelbi, Ramisella, Rinazzo and San Nicola “Gorghi Tondi”. Located in the most suited areas of western Sicily, these areas represent a huge richness of soils, microclimates and varieties of cultivated vines. Rinazzo is the territory in which is cultivated the Syrah grape, its soil is dry and clayey, and thanks to its particular climatic conditions, it is very suited for the cultivation of this variety. The “San Nicola” farm is located in the neighboring of Mazara del Vallo, and occupies an area of 115 hectares (280 acres), part of them being in the WWF park “Gorghi Tondi”. Its soil is made of clay and, thanks to its ideal microclimate, the area is particularly suited for Grillo and Chardonnay grapes used for the production of Gorgo Tondo Bianco wine, and for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Nero d'Avola grapes used for the production of Gorgo Tondo Rosso.

 The “Gazzerotta” farm, which occupies an area of about 90 hectares (220 acres) in the territory of Mazara del Vallo, is located in a territory which is included in the Delia Nivolelli DOC, one of the 19 denominations of controlled origin in Sicily. Today, in the 78 hectares (190 acres) at Gazzerotta are being successfully cultivated autochthonous and international grapes, such as Nero d'Avola, Inzolia, Grillo, Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) and Malvasia Bianca, as well as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Carlo Pellegrino owns a modern winery in the Pantelleria island - in contrada Kuddie Rosse - in which they invested huge resources for the revaluation and the production of the famous Moscato and Passito di Pantelleria, one of the many wines who made Sicily renowned. The main winery is located in Marsala and occupies an area of about 30,000 square meters (about 7,5 acres), has an aging capacity of 200,000 hectoliters and a modern bottling line capable of producing an average of 10,500 bottles per hour.

 The production of this historical winery is divided into two brands: Carlo Pellegrino and Duca di Castelmonte. The Carlo Pellegrino branding is used for the renowned Marsala, sweet Sicilian IGT wines and Pantelleria DOC. The Duca di Castelmonte branding is used for all table wines as well as for sweet and fortified wines. The range of Marsala produced by Carlo Pellegrino is pretty vast and interesting. The range begins with Marsala fine - also available in the “Ruby” style - three Marsala Superiore (Dry, Garibaldi Dolce and Oro), Marsala Vergine Soleras and the interesting Marsala Vergine Vintage 1980 - exclusively produced with Grillo grape - rich of complex and strong aromas, result of more than 20 years of aging in oak casks: a wonderful Marsala perfect as a “meditation” wine and that could be served in place of a distillate. As for wines of Duca di Castelmonte branding are to be mentioned, among the many, the new and interesting red wine Tripudium, produced with Nero d'Avola, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the very good Passito di Pantelleria NES, and the enchanting grappa Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, reviewed in the “Aquavitae” column.

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