Blood in marsala wine?

TweetieBird

Growing up in the borg, I always heard that you shouldn't drink Marsala wine because there is blood in it. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Any relevance to the claim? Or was this just another urban legend?

Seeker

This would be news to me. Probably another urban legend. I heard lots of 'em back in the 70s. Everything from certain cuts of meat, to certain McDonald's products.

VeniceIT

hmmmm never heard that. How about the ol 'Black Forest Ham' one? Or envelopes NEVER LICK THEM hahahha.

Ven

"Injustice will continue until those who are not affected by it are as outraged as those who are."

VeniceIT

hmmmm never heard that. How about the ol 'Black Forest Ham' one? Or envelopes NEVER LICK THEM hahahha. OHHH this is a good one how about 'DUCT TAPE' yup they say there is blood in the adhesive so brothers weren't allowed to use duct tape on a wound on the job site!!!

Ven

"Injustice will continue until those who are not affected by it are as outraged as those who are."

jayhawk1

I went searching the net, but I did not find anything to suggest Marsala wine had blood in it. I did however find this for you.

Marsala is the west section of Sicily, and in 1798 they managed to substitute their own wines in place of the standard rum in an English naval shipment. In those seafaring days, something had to be done to wine to allow it to last the long ocean journeys. Brandy was added to allow the wine to last longer, and to be more resistant to temperature changes. These were called "fortified wines".

Once the British had a taste of Marsala, demand grew quickly. In the United States during Prohibition, things became even more interesting. The typical Marsala bottles made the wine seem like medicine. People found that getting Marsala was less risky than other types of wine. While not as popular now, it is still used quite frequently as a cooking wine in Italian dishes.

Marsala uses the following grapes:

* white skin/berry grapes: Grillo, Catarratto, Inzolia and Damaschino for golden and amber Marsala
* dark red skin/berry grapes: Pignatello, Calabrese, Nerello Mascalese, Nero d’Avola for ruby red Marsala

Marsala is made in the "solera" tradition - a melding of years. First, a keg is put down. Subsequent years with similar tastes are placed in kegs above the first. When liquid is drawn out of the bottom (oldest) keg, it is refreshed with liquid from the next keg up, and so on. In this manner, the taste remains the same throughout the cycle, and every bottle you get has (potentially) some liquid from the very first vintage.

Types of Marsala

* Fine: 17° alcohol, aged >1 yr
* Superiore: 18° alcohol, aged >2 years
* Superiore Riserva: 18° alcohol, aged 4 years
* Vergine Soleras: 18° alcohol, aged 5 years

Marsala was traditionally served between the first and second courses. It is now also served, chilled, with Parmesan (stravecchio), Gorgonzola, Roquefort and other, spicy cheeses.

I hope this helps.

"Hand me that whiskey, I need to consult the spirit."-J.F. Rutherford

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jayhawk1

Here is a story about French wines that do contain blood.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_377000/377065.stm

"Hand me that whiskey, I need to consult the spirit."-J.F. Rutherford

Jeremy's Hate Mail Hall Of Fame.
http://hometown.aol.com/onjehovahside/ and [email protected]

metatron

the question is - is blood used as some kind of
clarifying agent in wine?

metatron

jayhawk1

Blood is used as a clarifying agent in some wines. I found this in a wine dictionary.

Filter - Use of too much clarifying agents (gelatine, egg white, albumin, Sparkalloid, kieselsol, bentonite, skim milk, Isinglass, Casein, ox blood, agar - agar, carbon, PVPP [polyvinylpolypirrolidone]), as filter aids; may give a slight odour and off taste to the wine when first filtered.

http://www.kamiljuices.com/glossary.html

"Hand me that whiskey, I need to consult the spirit."-J.F. Rutherford

Jeremy's Hate Mail Hall Of Fame.
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