Vin Santo from Agriturismo Villa Stabbia

Italy's "holy wine” Vin Santo, is one of the most ancient and typical products of Florentine and Tuscan oenology. 

The wine is made from the best of the best white grapes the traditional way, by drying grapes either by hanging them up or by laying them on cane mats in an airy room.

After 3 or 4 months the semidried grapes are full of concentrated sugars and flavours. They're pressed and then fermented in small oak or chestnut barrels (called caratelli), which contain a small amount of madre-thick wine left from the prior year. 

The wine is kept in these barrels for 2 to 3 - sometimes as long as 6-years, stored away in the attic. The barrels, which are not completely full, are exposed to varying temperatures - hot in the summer, cool in the winter. This oxidation treatment is part of the aging process and produces wine with a characteristic nutty-caramel flavour, a deep golden colour, and an alcohol content that ranges from 14 to 17 percent. 


Most Vin Santo is slightly sweet and served as dessert wine, although some versions are dry and better suited for an aperitif. The grapes used to make Vin Santo vary. In Tuscany, for example, the grapes are primarily Trebbiano, Malvasia, and Canaiolo. 

 

 

 


Various theories exist regarding the origins of its name. The strangest one, halfway between fact and fiction, tells how in the year 1349, on the occasion of the Ecumenical Council that was held in Florence, this wine was offered to the prelates who arrived from all over the Christian world. The Greek Patriarch Bessarione, noting a similarity with the wines of his own country exclaimed: "This is wine from Xantos". However, the others members present not understanding the geographical reference, thought that Bessarione had discovered that the Tuscan "Vin Pretto" (pure wine, as it was called to start with) was so good as to be defined as "Santo" (holy). Another theory, though less picturesque, links the name to the fact that this wine was used regularly during mass. 

In any case, in Tuscan tradition Vin Santo represents hospitality, being the drink that is always on hand to be offered to guests, both in the homes of peasants and nobles. 

Vin Santo is generally used as a dessert wine - its vivid honey and brown sugar aromas turn to nut and caramel in the mouth. It becomes a perfect digestive, accompanied by the famous "cantuccini" biscotti (almond biscuits) – cookies to-dip-in-the-wine. 

 



Vin Santo di Villa Stabbia - DOC

The grapes for this authentic Vin Santo are solely Trebbiano - Just before harvesting the grapes for wine, the best white grapes are selected and collected for the Vin Santo production. The grapes are placed on cane mats in a fresh room to partially dry for four months and are subsequently pressed and made into wine. 

The production on the farm is organic, and thus the grapes are organically grown and the Vin Santo is organically made - however the production is too small to justified it being certified as such.

The Vin Santo has aged in oak barrels (caratelli) for a minimum of 3 years, but more likely towards 6 years. The alcohol content is usually around 17 degrees, and the colour is intense amber. 

It has a smell of spices in general, dry fruits, particularly figs and apricots and one find a harmonic taste with a good balance between alcohol, sugar residues and acidity. 


DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata)
Defines an area, usually narrower than an IGT, having more rigid production criteria if compared to the preceding level.

 


 


The Common Well
To Charles Chaplin

The well you invite us to drink of
is one than no drop may be
bought of.
You think of what all of us think of
but nobody else could have
thought of. 

Grook by Piet Hein

  

 

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Agriturismo Villa Stabbia, Via Casorino 3, 51010 Massa e Cozzile, Toscana, Italia
+39 0572 74975       -        info@VillaStabbia.it       -       P.IVA 01483210470