Vin Santo

Vin Santo ("holy wine") is an Italian dessert wine. This traditional Tuscan wine is made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, and is typically very sweet.

Origin of the Name

There are various theories about the origin of this name.

A version from Siena tells of a Franciscan friar who in 1348 cured plague victims with the wine normally used by the brothers to celebrate the mass; the conviction that this wine had miraculous properties spread, leading to the epithet "santo" (holy).

Another is from Florence: when the Council of Florence was held in Florence in 1439, the Greek metropolitan Bessarion proclaimed upon drinking the "vin pretto", as it had been called up to that point (and also after), "This is the wine of Xantos!", possibly alluding to a certain Greek Passito (pressed raisin wine) from Santorini. His fellow diners, who misheard 'Xantos' as 'santos' believed that he had discovered qualities in the wine worthy to be proclaimed "santo". In any event, from that time on "vin pretto" became "Vin Santo". A variant of the story says that he used the word "Xanthos" (in Greek, ξάνθος, meaning "yellow") in speaking of the wine.

The least romantic and possibly most likely origin is the association of this wine with its customary use during the Mass.

Production

The grapes are hand picked and hung from the rafters of a well-ventilated room. Once dried, the grapes are pressed and the juice is poured into caratelli for fermentation. Caratelli are small cigar-shaped barrels. After the initial fermentation the caratelli are sealed and placed under the roof of the winery, sometimes as long as ten years. The wine develops a deep golden or amber color, and a sweet, often nutty, taste.

Consumption

Vin santo is typically enjoyed as "cantucci e vin santo"; a glass of Vin santo served with almond or hazelnut biscuits. These biscuits can be dipped in the Vin santo to soften them and accentuate their flavor.