Vin Santo del Chianti is
an Italian fortified wine that shares characteristics with other Italian
desert/fortified wines, which are called “passitti” in Italian. The name “Vin
Santo” is not special to the fortified wines from the Chianti, but the “Vin
Santo” from the Chianti are the most well known and widely praised. The origin
of the name “Vin Santo” is not certain and several hypothesis exist: Some
historians claim the name “holy wine” to be related to its role in liturgical
celebrations as a wine used during mass. Some “Vin Santo” are said to derive
their “holiness” from the fact that the grapes to produce them are picked
during the “Holly Week” of the liturgical calendar.
The production of a fortified
wine is quite different from the production of other types of wine. In the
Chianti two types of Vin Santo are made: Vin Santo del Chianti (from local
white grape varieties, most often Malvasia Lunga or Trebbiano grapes) and Vin
Santo del Chianti Occhio di Pernice (made predominantly from red Sangiovese
grapes). In
September-October the grapes are
harvested manually upon full maturation in order to select the most healthy and
loose bunches that still contain a certain amount of acidity. The selected
bunches are hanged on racks or laid on straw mats that permit the full
circulation of air. For a period of two to four months these rosters or racks
are placed in special spaces called “appassitoi” (often on the highest story of
a house) where there is a free natural circulation of air or in specially
designed spaces with articificial ventilation systems. The goal now is to
desiccate the grapes and to avoid the formation of molds and fermentation by
keeping them in a temperature between 10-15°C and well ventilated.
Between
the 1st of December and not the 31st of March the grapes
are well dehydrated and concentrated. The grapes are then stripped off their
stems, crushed and put into small 50 liter wooden vessels called “caratelli”.
These “caratelli” still contain a starter yeast, a dark dense sediment called
“madre” (mother) that is a residue of the production of previous years. The
further evaporation of the Vin Santo will cause a decrease in the level of wine
in the barells and some producers choose to poor the wine in smaller barrels as
it condenses over time. Some producers also pass the wine through a sequence of
barels made out of different types of wood in order to add different aromas to
the finished product. After a minimum aging period of three years the sediments
are separated from the liquid and the resulting liquid is our famous Vin Santo
del Chianti. This fortified wine is slightly stronger then other Chianti wines
with an alcohol level of arround 15-20%. Vin Santo has an intense colour (ranging from a pale yellow to
a dark golden or amber colour), and is known for its caramel, vanilla, honey,
nuts and dried fruit aromas.
Vin Santo is most of all
a wine of celebration. A desert wine used to end a good and gratifying dinner.
You can find it on most restaurant menus, but many Italian families enjoy the
wine at homely dinner parties. The most well-known combination is to dip
traditional cantucci toscani in the
Vin Santo and eat them moist with the fortified wine. These cantucci toscani are a type of dry sweet
biscuits with pieces of almonds in them. These biscuits are not excessively
sweetened and soak up considerate amounts of the Vin Santo. The wine is also combined with other types of
local biscuits or with cheese (especially the sweet variant of gorgonzola
cheese).
Vin Santo is a part of
the culinary richness of the Chianti that ought to be enjoyed to its fullest. A
wine that is produced according to local tradition and that caries the unique
flavors of the Chianti. A tasty dessert wine that comes highly recommended for
you to… enjoy!
