Marsala of Motya, an ancient Phoenician town. The modern name likely derived from the Arabic مَرْسَى عَلِيّ (marsā ʿaliyy, “Ali's harbor”), or possibly مَرْسَى اللّٰه (marsā llāh, “God's harbor”). Situated at the extreme western point of Sicily, the town was founded on Lilibeo Cape from where the Aegadian Islands and the Stagnone Lagoon can be seen. The territory of Marsala, , has a rich cultural and landscape heritage; its area includes the Stagnone Lagoon, a Natural Reserve in which is located the island of Mozia. The city of Marsala had a population of about 86,000 until the end of 1970, when
History of Portuguese wine foreign investments, which brought expansions and upgrades of winemaking technology and know how to Portugal. The Portuguese appellation system of "Denominação de Origem Controlada" (DOC) was also upgraded to be more in line with its French, Italian and Spanish counterparts. The rise of smaller boutique wineries or "quintas" has brought about a revolution in Portuguese wine making. Prior to this, non-fortified Portuguese wines were characterized as being "rustic" and "oxidized". Advancements in better winemaking techniques have allowed producers to make cleaner, softer wines that are more palatable to the international wine market. While historically the Portuguese wine industry was seemingly