La dolce vita! The sweet life – that simple phrase captures all our romantic fantasies about Italy and its inimitable life style – in fashion, in film, in food, in love, in sports cars – and in wine! Renowned for both reds and whites, Italy also offers a unique, luscious, sweet wine: Vin Santo, or, in English translation, Holy Wine. There is nothing finer to accompany Christmas shortbread, or your other holiday baking treats.
Centuries ago, the Italians mastered the art of concentrating the essential elements in grape juice by gently and slowly drying the newly-harvested ripe grapes on straw mats, stored on well-ventilated racks in specially constructed adjuncts of their wineries. Over a period of months, these grapes are air dried by the passing breezes. So, just like icewine in Canada, or Sauternes in France, these shrivelled, raisiny grapes contain highly concentrated natural grape sugar and all the other organic compounds that make the wine grape Vitis vinifera the unique species that it is. These dried grapes are then fermented very slowly for a long time, producing in the end a wine that is quite high in alcohol, intensely sweet with residual natural grape sugar, and vibrant with all the concentrated complex essence of the grape. After this lengthy production process, the wine will be held at the winery to age, sometimes for years, in small oaken casks. Needless to say, these rarities are necessarily expensive, but, when compared with their competitors Icewine and Sauternes, their prices are not out of line.
There are many legends about the origin of the name Vin Santo. One is simply that it was popular in the Catholic church as holy communion wine, another source swears that it was named
for the miraculous cures attributed to it when administered to the sick. Another has it as simple word confusion with the sweet Greek dessert wine Xantos from the island of Santorini. Whatever the origin, it is now lost in antiquity, so believe what you like!
Vin Santo is made all over Italy – many winemakers produce small, non-commercial quantities for their private use, and these rarities are never seen in our market. In the Italian wine culture,
a simple glass of Vin Santo by itself is a popular respite from the stresses of hectic daily care. When paired with those hard little almond-scented biscotti, Vin Santo becomes “cantucci e Vin Santo”, Italy’s best known traditional welcome to visitors in their homes.
And yes, it’s OK to dip your biscotti in the wine!
There are many producers who produce their Vin Santo in commercial quantities, and the quality of these offerings is almost invariably high. Perhaps the finest examples come from the most prestigious winemakers of Tuscany, although doubtless there are many from other regions who would dispute that statement, demanding that the accolade go to their own bottling. There is, of course, no way to settle this argument other than by diligent experimentation and the judicious application of personal opinion!
Essentially, any grape variety, red or white, can be put through this air-drying process to make wine in the style of Vin Santo. The process is essentially the same as the one used by vintners in the Veneto to make their great, powerful dry red wine Amarone (see Bayview Fall 2024). Most often, Vin Santo is made with white grapes, resulting in a rich glowing golden wine. In Tuscany, Sangiovese, the red grape of Chianti, may be added to the blend, yielding a wine with a warm russet hue, somewhere between garnet and ruby. Enjoy cool, with a mildly sweet holiday confection, and always in moderation. Buon Natale!
© Paul Inksetter 2024
