Showing posts with label Carmignano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carmignano. Show all posts

Thursday, September 03, 2009

Holy wine.

Whilst my family OTW has jetted off to Lucca for a mini-holiday, school is back in for me and I won't be going anywhere, anytime soon...least of all Tuscany. So, to put myself in their holiday spirit, I decided to have some Vin Santo after dinner.
The best known of Italy's sweet wines, the grapes from which Vin Santo is made, are left to dehydrate for months after harvest to concentrate the sugar content. The grapes can either be red or white, but white is more typical. It is found all over regulation-crazed Italy ( it is called Vino Santo in Trentino-Alta Adige), but mainly Tuscany. The wine is then aged in barrels, up in attics, to produce a madeira-like effect, developing oxidised characteristics, with complex aromas and flavours. Vin Santo should be at least 3 years old, 4 years for a riserva, and may be sweet or dry.
One small glass was not really a sufficient amount to transport me to some medieval, walled city, but it was enough to distract me from my Humanities homework.