Vin Santo DOCs Toscana. Flashcards
What is Vin Santo?
It is Toscana’s classic dessert wine.
What is the difference between “passito” and “appassimento”?
Strictly “passito” refers to a wine which has been made “appassimento” which is a method. But nowadays they are regarded as interchangeable.
What are the most important Toscana Vin Santo appellations?
Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC;
Vin Santo del Chianti DOC;
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC;
Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC.
Which grapes are used in Vin Santo?
Mainly Trebbiano Toscana and Malvasia.
What makes Vin Santo special?
It stands among Italy’s best and most distinctive dessert wines.
What levels of sweetness are Vin Santo produced in?
From dry to lusciously sweet but most are in the sweet range.
How is Vin Santo commonly described?
Intense and velvety with a pleasant oxidative character.
What are typical aromas and flavours of Vin Santo?
Nuts, honey, hay, dried fruit, licorice and spice.
How are grapes for Vin Santo dried?
It is made from grapes which have been air-dried using the appassimento method on racks of straw in well-aerated rooms or by hanging them from rafters.
What does appassimento do to the grapes?
The process concentrates the sugars and flavours by dehydrating them. It can last for months.
How is Vin Santo produced?
The unfermented very sweet must is placed in small, old barrels where a slow fermentation and maturation takes place, sometimes over a decade.
What is the name of the barrels used to make Vin Santo?
Caratelli
