Marsala it is not unusual to experience the effect of Sirocco wind, which brings dust and sand from the Sahara. Winters are generally rainy and cooler with temperatures ranging between minimum of (in December 2014) and . Snowfall occurs very rarely, since the temperature has never dropped below freezing, although snow has fallen before, for example in December 2014. In 397 BC the Phoenician colony of Motya on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I. The survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby, the site of modern-day Marsala, which they called by
Flavored fortified wine Flavored fortified wine Flavored fortified wines are inexpensive fortified wines that typically have an alcohol content between 13% and 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). They are usually made of grape and citrus wine, sugar, and artificial flavor. An early reference to the problem of cheap and poorly made wines is in the "Report on Cheap Wines" in the 5 November 1864 issue of "The Medical Times and Gazette". The author, in prescribing inexpensive wines for a number of ills, cautions against the "fortified" wines of the day, describing of one sample that he had tried: It is reported, however, that