The Wine
Marsala is the name of the wine made near the town of Marsala in western Sicily. It has many distinguishing and enduring characteristics.
It's fortified. Distilled spirits, usually grape brandy, are added to the finished product. At first this practice assured that the wine could withstand long sea voyages without going bad. Now it's because people enjoy the taste and warmth of the extra alcohol content (in the neighborhood of 15-20 percent).
It is available in a range of ages, usually from 1-5 years old, which effects its taste and color.
It is available in a variety of sweetness levels, making one strain perfect for an apperitif, another for a dessert wine.
De gustibus! Marsala can be lots of things to lots of people.
Marsala the Color
Similarly, PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala, color of the year, evokes a lot of responses.
We decided to play with Marsala using rugs and fabrics. What works? What doesn't? Everyone has an opinion.
Our first course, you might say the aparitif, was in the Artifact Garden behind the Addison/Dicus showroom.
We placed some vintage Anatolian rugs together with some marsala-themed fabrics just to see what popped. Rough draft.
A Formal Traditional Setting
Next we placed a neutral-beige couch on a vintage anatolian 9x12 and let that be the backdrop for more fabric samples. By this time other folks at the Design Center were grabbing fabric samples and trying them out. Decorating can be a great team sport.
Contemporary
We needed a modern touch. Addison/Dicus' Wendy Gold picked the very contemporary rug Bohemian Rhapsody, created in 2013, to experiment with more fabric. The star-like element under the table and lamp are very close matches to PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala.
By this point, fabric samples were coming and going so fast, we got careless and forgot to hide the tags.
Many thanks to the folks at Interiors Trading for the fabric samples, the furniture and the great suggestions!
Live the Good Life and Make $100
During our little PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala experiment, we got hungry for some chicken marsala and came up with a great idea.
Send us your favorite chicken marsala recipe. We will prepare it carefully and taste test it at the Addison/Dicus conference table. We will score each recipe objectively, take careful notes and enjoy every minute.
By the end of February we will pick our favorite and award its creator a $100 gift certificate to Addison/Dicus.
Please submit your recipes and questions to Harry Chittenden, harry@addisondicus.com