Vin Santo (holy wine) is an Italian dessert wine. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Dessert wines (or pudding wines BrE) are sweet Wines typically served with Dessert, such as Sauternes and Tokaji This traditional Tuscan wine is made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, and is typically very sweet. Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Trebbiano is a Grape variety that probably makes more white wine in the world than any other Malvasia (also known as Malvazia) is a group of wine Grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and the island of Madeira

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). Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Siena. The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic A Friar is a member of one of the Mendicant orders. Friars and monks Friars differ from Monks in that they are called to a life of poverty in service

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. Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany The Council of Florence (originally Council of Basel) was an Ecumenical Council of Bishops and other ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church Florence ( Italian: Firenze Florentia and Fiorenza) is the Capital City of the Italian region of Tuscany The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions In Hierarchical Christian churches the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the Diocesan bishop or Basilios Bessarion or Basilius Bessarion (in Greek Βασίλειος Βησσαρίων ( January 2 1403 &ndash November 18 Straw Wine, or raisin wine, is a Wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice 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. Mass is a fundamental concept in Physics, roughly corresponding to the Intuitive idea of how much Matter there is in an object

Production

Vin Santo aging in caratelli at a small winery near Castiglion Fiorentino. Castiglion Fiorentino is a small walled city in eastern Tuscany, in the Province of Arezzo, between the cities of Arezzo and Cortona.

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. Biscotti is Italian for " Biscuits " In North America the word has been taken to refer to a specific type of biscuits These biscuits can be dipped in the Vin santo to soften them and accentuate their flavor.

Cantucci e Vin Santo, in a restaurant in Milan, Italy