Cantine Florio - Sicilia

Sicilia

Cantine Florio

The impressive house of Florio continues, virtually alone, to carry the torch of quality among the once great Marsala producers of Sicily's western tip. The winery is still situated on the original site in Marsala, which it has occupied since 1833 and extends today over 44,000 sq metres, producing over 5 million litres of Marsala which are matured in traditional 300-litre oak casks. At first a family winery, founder Vincenzo Florio had the good commercial sense to broaden his business interests which allowed the winery to survive hard times. Now Cantine Florio is an iconic name in Marsala production.

For more than 200 years the Florio brand is the hallmark for Marsala wine in the world. Vincenzo Florio started production in 1833 when he built the marvelous wine cellars made of tuff stone in Marsala that up to this very day still bear witness to the entrepreneurial spirit and passion of a family that changed the face of Sicily and gave it a modern soul.
The Florios, a family of enlightened entrepreneurs, gave proof of uncommon foresight by diversifying their interests and personally managing many different business activities, among which: tuna-fisheries, the shipping company, foundries and the ceramics factory. The Florio legend was also consolidated through the car race that still bears their name: Targa Florio.
As for the production of Marsala wine, in 1832 Vincenzo Florio bought a piece of land along the shoreline between the Ingham and Woodhouse estates and there he built - in tuff stone and wood - the Cantine Florio. The estate excited admiration and highlighted the industrial vocation of the town of Marsala, which became one of the richest towns in Sicily. Yet the first years of the Cantine Florio were fraught with difficulties. There were no profits and very few prospects. Florio weathered the storm thanks to his determination and to the financial resources he could rely on. Yet before reaching success with the creation of other warehouses in Italy and France, Florio Marsala had to wait at least another 20 years, that is to say up to 1855, for it to reap its first profits. From then on and up to 1861 Florio Marsala enjoyed constant growth.

The wine cellars had 14 sheds measuring from 160 to 214 meters in length - some of which can still be admired today - under which the casks would be arranged in three rows, one on top of the other, reaching a height of several meters.
In 1904 Florio established, together with another eight businessmen from Marsala, the S.A.V.I. – Società Anonima Vinicola Italiana – Company, sold in 1924 to Cinzano, which in 1928 also bought Woodhouse and Ingham – Whitaker.

During the air bombings by the Allies in WWII the Florio wine cellars suffered major damage and the post-war reconstruction works were slow and strenuous. From 1984 to the early 1990s the wine cellars were thoroughly renovated to restore their ancient splendor. At the same time Marsala wine witnessed a commercial revival thanks also to the "original bottles", which gradually replaced its sale in casks. Since then the Florio name has become the hallmark for Marsala wine and the company's fame has gradually spread internationally.

In January 1998 the ILLVA S.p.A. Company bought even the other 50 percent of the share parcel of S.A.V.I. Florio thus taking over the entire company. This marks the beginning of a new stage in the company's life, during which important and positive changes have been made also in organizational terms. These changes have made it possible for Florio to climb to the top of the market.