Holy wine! No, that's not a Batman-style exclamation. It's the English name for Vin Santo, a golden, ambery 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.
Vin Santo: Our choices
Gino Pedrotti Vin Santo 2002 is one of the best wines produced in Trentino's Valle dei Laghi, where the wind coming from Lake Garda guarantees a perfect drying of the grapes. It's a Slow Food Presidium wine.
A rarity is Lusignani Colli Piacentini Vin Santo di Vigoleno 2006, produced with the 18th-century techniques that have been handed down from father to son.
This Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina from Fattoria di Grignano 2009 is organically grown on an estate famous for wine and oil. Let it sit in the cellar as it ages extraordinarily well.
