Vin Santo (Italy)

Vin Santo

In Tuscany you drink Vin Santo with Cantucci (Almond Biscuits)

Serving Temperature

13-14°C (55-57°F)

Flavors

Orange Zest
Orange Zest
Apricot
Apricot
Tropical Fruit
Tropical
Fruit
Raisins
Raisins
Figs
Figs
Nuts
Nuts
Caramel
Caramel
Honey
Honey
Herbal
Herbal
Truffle
Truffle
Licorice
Licorice
Mineral
Mineral

Typical flavors of Vin Santo wines are: Citrus. Apricot. Tropical Fruit. Dried Fruit. Caramel. Honey. Cream. Herbal. Earthy. Smoke. Spices. Licorice and Mineral.

Food Pairing Vin Santo

Meditation
Meditation
Biscuits
Cantucci
Biscuits
Foie Gras
Foie Gras
Blue Cheese
Blue
Cheese

Vin Santo is a good match to Foie Gras. Paté. Biscotti. Cantucci. Italian Torte (Cakes). Panforte. Nut Cakes. Walnut Tart. Peacan Pie. Christmas Desserts. Dark Chocolate. Dried Fruit. Blue Cheese. Roquefort.

The wine should always be as sweet, or sweeter than what you are eating.

Vin Santo Styles

The style of Vin Santo varies depending on the production methods and the grapes used.

The sweetness can vary from bone dry (like Fino Sherry) to extremely sweet. The colour can range from a pale amber to neon orange.

Vin Santo can also be fortified (like Port) with grape spirit added during fermentation. Fortified Vin Santo is usually labelled Vin Santo Liquoroso.

White grapes are most widely used (Trebbiano and Malvasia), but red grapes (like Sangiovese) can also be used to produce a amber-red sweet wine called Occhio di Pernice (Eye of the Partridge).

DOC Vin Santo

In Tuscany, there are four DOCs that make only Vin Santo. Each of these corresponds to a major red wine DOCG zone:

Other DOC zones:

About Vin Santo

Vin Santo or Vinsanto (Sacred Wine) is a sweet dessert wine from Tuscany in Italy, most often made from the grapes Trebbiano and Malvasia.

Vin Santo is made from dried grapes, and the degree of alcohol, sweetness and oxidation will vary a lot between manufacturers.

Cantucci or Biscotti are almond cookies from Tuscany. They are made without oil or butter, and baked twice to crisp perfection. Biscotti literally means twice (bis) cooked (cotti).