Posted on 01/21/2013
In 1833 Vincenzo Florio began producing fine Florio wines and built the Florio Winery in Marsala. In so doing, he not only brought a new dimension to the town, but contributed to inventing modern Sicily. Son of a dynasty of enlightened, farsighted businessmen, he worked with tenacity and imagination, even in the difficult early years when the Winery made no profit whatsoever and prospects were poor. Florio Marsala, a product for which time and ageing are essential, took twenty years before it made its name as a successful premium wine and ensured the first profits. From then until 1861, the fortunes of the Florio family and their Marsala were in the ascendant.