Wine for the Weekend of 11/1/19

The reason vin santo (holy wine) is the wine for the weekend of 11/1/19 is because it’s All Saint’s Day if you are Catholic. And, it doesn’t show up on my iPhone calendar. However, it’s funny that all the other religious holidays seem to be on it. Anyway, vin santo grapes are being harvested now. They will lay them out to dry for the Winter to concentrate the flavors. Then, in the Spring around Easter, they are pressed and the wine is put into barrels in outdoor barns. They allow this purposely, because this wine tastes better the more they allow the weather to beat it up. Afterwards, they are put in bottle from 3-10 years. Each winery decides how long. The grapes used are trebbiano and malvasia bianco. And, sangiovese is used to produce a rosé style called Occhio di Pernice or eye of the partridge. In addition, Saint Vincent of Saragossa is the patron saint of wine. Cool!

Aromas and Taste

Vin Santo is a full-bodied, very sweet dessert wine. It smells and tastes like hazelnut, caramel, honey, tropical fruit, perfume and dried apricot. Vin santo packs a punch full of flavor. It is my personal favorite for a dessert wine. Serve it at cellar temperature which means 60-65 degrees. Put it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.

Food Pairing

This one is easy. It is traditionally served with hard biscotti for dunking called cantucci. As a nice tradition, Italians always offer vin santo and cantucci if you come to visit. Remember to buy some hard biscotti at an Italian bakery.

Vin Santo Wine for the Weekend of 11/1/19

The hard part is that these wines are expensive and hard to find. Take this opportunity to check out several wine shops. You will like what you find! Spend at least $40. There is a less expensive alternative. It’s called vino santo. Vin santo comes in half bottle sizes (375ml). Vino santo usually comes in the standard size of 750ml. It’s okay if that’s all you can afford. Go for it. Besides taste, the main difference is that vin santo can only be made in Tuscany, whereas vino santo can be made anywhere in Italy. Notice the example below is from Umbria. Any winery is okay with this wine. If you can’t find any, then pick up any dessert wine that comes in the 375ml size. Ask for help or call or text me at 609-364-3477.

If you would like to see my cheat sheet for wine shopping, please click here.  If you would like to learn more about wine, please click here.

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