A medicated wine for treating diseases.
Vin Santo, a sacred wine with a long history, was first mentioned in early Christian historical documents. It refers to a wine especially suitable for Eucharist Mass. It is said that when the Black Death raged in 1348, a Dominican monk offered this sweet wine to patients to alleviate their suffering. Later, it was generally believed that this wine was magical and sacred.
Another legend about the origin of divine wine can be traced back to 1439. At that time, Pope Eugenio IV held a grand council in Florence, with the aim of unifying the various schools of the Eastern and Western Catholic churches. A prominent family in Florence, the Merdici family, arranged a banquet and presented a glass of sweet wine. Cardinal Bessarione, the Italian cardinal at that time, was deeply amazed at this sweet wine. He mistakenly thought it was made of Xantos, a grape variety from his hometown of Greece, and called it "Xantos", but the listener thought he said Santo (similar pronunciation). In this way, the name "Vin Santo" has been passed down again and again.
Regardless of its origin, sacred wine is inextricably linked with beautiful Tuscany. In Tuscany, people have long used two local white grape varieties, Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia, to brew holy wine. Holy wine can also be brewed from the traditional Tuscan red grape variety Sangiovese, which is called "Eye of the Partridge" because its liquor color is similar to brown and dark amber (the proportion of each variety is slightly different in each producing area).
At present, there are four special legal holy wine producing areas in Tuscany: Chianti Winery, Chianti Classic Winery, Montepulciano Winery and Camini Winery. In some other legal producing areas (such as Doque in the middle of Coride Ritruria), sacred wine exists as an independent wine style. In the long years, the sacred wine that fascinated the world gradually spread from Tuscany to other Italian regions, and it can also be found in Trentino, umbria and other regions.
The appearance of sacred wine is varied, from light grass yellow to deep amber. In taste, most holy wines are sweet, but there are also dry holy wines. Holy wine usually has complex and rich flavors such as dried apricots, tropical fruits, orange peel, caramel, nuts, raisins, dried figs, sweet spices, minerals and so on. , mellow and smooth taste, full-bodied, solid structure, strong aging ability.
More complicated than air-dried liqueur
How on earth is holy wine brewed? What makes sacred wine unique and enduring?
First of all, the grapes for making holy wine should be air-dried before pressing. 9.5438+ 10 During the picking season in June, people choose the healthiest grape clusters to pick, then spread them on straw mats indoors, or hang them indoors to dry. The room for air-drying grapes is called "Vinsantaia" and is usually located on the top floor and attic of traditional Tuscan houses. Relatively cleaner, better ventilation. No one controls the temperature in these rooms. It is cold in autumn and winter and hot in spring and summer. In order to keep the natural breeze, people will open all the windows in Vinsantaia.
The air-drying process of grapes for brewing holy wine can last for 3 to 6 months (ranging from 90 days to 180 days). In the process of grape air drying, winemakers must always pay attention to the changes of grape clusters, eliminate moldy and deteriorated fruit grains, pay attention to air circulation, keep a proper distance between grape clusters, let grapes naturally dehydrate, improve sugar content and increase the complexity of taste. The length of air drying time has a certain relationship with the final residual sugar content of wine. Generally, if the goal is to brew semi-dry wine, air drying can be completed in the middle of February or the end of October. If we want to make raisins sweeter, the air drying process will even be extended to February or March of the following year.
But if it is only air-dried, there is little difference between the holy wine and the air-dried sweet wine (Passito) found all over Italy. Saint wine is special because it has to undergo a very special barrel aging in the brewing process.
The air-dried grape juice obtained by squeezing the air-dried grapes is put into a wooden barrel named "Caratelli" for natural alcohol fermentation and aging. There are many kinds of Kalatri barrels, some of which are not even made of oak, but of cherry wood or other locally available trees. The size of the barrel is also very random, and there is no fixed specification. In addition, the grape juice in each barrel will not be completely filled, and some space will often be left.
After the air-dried grape juice is put into these small barrels, people seal the barrels and let them stand for several years. In the legal producing area of Tuscany, Wen Sheng Delchianti, holy wine must be stored in small oak barrels for at least three years, and "Riesel tile" holy wine must be allowed to stand for at least four years. Many wineries will even stand in wooden barrels for about 10 years.
In wooden barrels, grape juice with high sugar content begins to ferment naturally after air drying. With the change of seasons and the rise and fall of temperature year after year, the fermentation speed of these grape juices is also changing. From March to May every year, the temperature rises gradually and fermentation begins. June-September is the hottest time of the year, and the fermentation speed of grape juice in the barrel is accelerated; 10- 12 With the coming of winter, fermentation slows down or even stagnates. After the temperature rises next spring, fermentation may start slowly again. This cycle goes back and forth. At the same time, because the barrel is not completely filled, and the air in Vinsantaia is relatively dry, the intermittent fermentation process of holy wine is also a process of continuous oxidation and aging.
During this period, people don't interfere, just wait silently, and no one can predict what happened in the bucket. After the minimum aging period is reached, the barrel can be opened. The moment when the barrel is opened is always exciting: if the alcohol fermentation process in a barrel is smooth and thorough, and most of the sugar in the grape juice is converted by yeast, then the wine in this barrel will be dry or semi-dry. If the alcohol fermentation process in a barrel is not completed, the wine in this barrel may be sweet or semi-sweet. Of course, some wine in the barrel will be left little because of excessive evaporation or inedible because of excessive oxidation. In a word, what style of wine will appear in the final barrel seems to depend entirely on God's will. From this perspective, the name "holy wine" is worthy of the name.
Meditation wine
After opening the barrels, the winemaker will taste the wine in different barrels and then decide how to mix the wine in these different barrels. Every year, the blending scheme of holy wine is different, and no two years of holy wine are exactly the same. For a winery, not every year will produce holy wine. Brewing holy wine is time-consuming and laborious, and it faces great uncertainty. At present, many wineries only brew holy wine in the most sure year, and the output scale is not large. Usually the holy wine on the market is bottled in 375 ml bottles.
According to the traditional customs in Tuscany, people will drink sacred wine with the local traditional almond biscuit Cantucci. The eating method is also very simple: first, put the sliced Cantucci into the holy wine in a cup and soak it a little, then chew the softened Cantucci and swallow it, and sip the holy wine.
In the eyes of the famous Italian sommelier Veronelli, sacred wine is a perfect "meditation wine". Because it is complex and delicate, it is more suitable for drinking alone. It is best to experience and feel this natural treasure calmly and attentively without being disturbed by external noise.