There are a lot of controversies regarding the origin of Vin Santo and the reason for its name. The most popular story is that in 1348, sweet wine was given to plague victims to soothe their symptoms. Individuals started to believe that this sweet wine actually had special properties and was then considered “holy water.” Whatever the origin, Vin Santo is regarded as some of the most luscious wines in the world.
The grapes
Depending on the style that the winemaker aims for, different grape varieties can be used. The most common are two white grapes: Trebbiano and Malvasia. The Trebbiano adds some much need acidity, as well as intense honey characteristics. The Malvasia, however, adds some body, as well as intense perfume notes. In some cases, winemakers will add a dash of Sangiovese to deepen the color and add some earthiness.
The regions
Although this wine is made in different regions in Italy, it is primarily made in Tuscany. Within Tuscany itself, there are 3 important DOCs that are producing the best Vin Santo wines:
- Vin Santo de Chianti
- Vin Santo di Chianti Classico
- Vin Santo di Montepulciano
The Process
The process of making this Vin Santo is one of the many reasons so many admire this wine. It starts with harvesting good, healthy grapes and then drying them out so they become raisin-like. They are either hung, for complete air circulation, or they are laid onto mats to dry.
Drying these grapes allows the concentration of sugar – but it can take months to dry and raisin.
The drying process is often sped up by dusting the grapes with bentonite to absorb the water and repel mosquitos. However, many believe that this wine should be left to dry and ferment naturally, with as little intervention as possible.
After drying, the wine is put into special barrels to ferment naturally. It is quite a risky process since most winemakers often seal the barrel and don’t check up on the wine for years. Often, the fermentation process will happen on-and-off for decades. This wine truly relies on hoping for the best.
The result
At the bottom of the barrel, huge amounts of sediment deposits would have formed, and most winemakers swear that this is the key to a successful Vin Santo.
Evaporation would also have occurred during the small pours in the barrels – which means that the barrels are often only filled 2/3rd of the way.
In Essence, Vin Santo is a fully oxidized wine – and it is loved for it. Generally, there are intense, layered aromas of Hazelnut, caramel, honey, and tropical fruit.
Volatile acidity is also very present in this wine – but with Vin Santo, it isn’t regarded as a fault.
The resulting alcohol can vary dependent on the producer and how dry they allowed the wine to ferment.
In some cases, dryer Vin Santo will be around 18% alcohol, whereas luscious, syrup versions will be around 14% alcohol.
There are many great, sweet wines in the world. We often hear about the Ice-Wines and the Tokaji Essencia but we very rarely hear about the Vin Santos.
Luckily the international market is quickly realizing the magic of these wines and we cannot wait to see what the future will hold.
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