Vin Santo is an Italian dessert wine traditionally from Tuscany
Italian Vin Santo is not related to Vinsanto the Greek dessert wine, even though they do have a similar name. In Tuscany, it’s mostly made from white grape varieties Trebbiano and Malvasia, and Sangiovese can be used to produce a rosé style known as “Occhio di Pernice” or eye of the partridge.
In this episode we’ll discuss:
- History of Vin Santo
- How it’s made?
- Flavor characterisitics
- Food pairings
Wine Recommendations:
Bellini Vin Santo 2009 – priced around $30. This wine is aged for at least 5 years in the barrel, giving it a medium orange color. It has a medium intense nose and aromas of honey, hazelnut, dried apricot and Dulce de Leche. This wine is delicious, sweet but not sticky and not as vicious as we expected.
This is a winery direct from Total Wine and you can purchase it here
Felsina Vin Santo 2004 – priced around $55 but worth every penny. Aged for seven years in the barrels and at least 6 months in the bottle before release, this wine has a medium amber color. It’s intense with aromas and flavors of dried apricots and pineapple, also caramelized brown sugar, plus hazelnut on the finish. This wine is smooth, you can’t even taste the alcohol and I would describe it as liquid perfection.
You can find purchase information here
Are you familiar with Vin Santo? Any great recommendations? Leave us a comment below.
Sources:
- Wine Folly
- Wikipedia Vin Santo and Straw Wine
- Italian Wine Central
- Decanter
- Talk of Tomatoes Blog
- Dievole