All About Vin Santo

Holy wine! No, that's not a Batman-style exclamation. It's the English name for Vin Santo, a golden, amber dessert wine that's especially beloved in Tuscany * and often paired with cantucci. The hard, crumbly almond biscotti are dunked into the wine, which softens them before eating.

Production

After harvesting, the grapes for making Vin Santo dry for a few months, either on racks or dangling from ceilings, so that the sugars become concentrated. A slow fermentation follows, then the wine is aged for many years (in many cases more than a decade) in wooden barrels, before being bottled and put on the market.

The Name

It is not known exactly why Vin Santo is deemed “holy,” but one theory connects its production cycle to religious holidays. In some areas, it was bottled on All Saints' Day while in others, the grapes were pressed at Christmas or Easter.

Its Origins

Vin Santo is produced in various regions of northern and central Italy with local mainly white, grapes: Nosiola (Trentino); Garganega (the Veneto); Trebbiano Otrugo, Melara, and Santa Maria (Emilia-Romagna); and Trebbiano and Malvasia (Tuscany and Umbria). The Occhio di Pernice version contains red Sangiovese grapes.

The Flavors

Vin Santo's flavors vary according to the production area, but the wines share some common characteristics: dried fruit, honey, apricot jam, and spices. It goes well with dry pastries, leavened cakes, and blue cheeses, and the full-bodied and aged versions pair excellently with chocolate.