During harvest, a selection of carefully picked grapes are left to dry. The bunches are hooked on to wooden racks, called “castelli”. While the grapes hang to dry until late December (approximately 3 months), our vinsantaia is an explosion of warm autumn colours, from yellow, through red to amber, and an intoxicating aroma of dried fruit fills the air. Once the grapes are properly dried, they are pressed and the grape-must is poured into our traditional wooden barrels or “caratelli” and left to mature in the vinsantaia. Vinsanto is usually left to age for three years and it is therefore ready to be bottled and appreciated around Christmas. One of the most exciting and long-awaited moments is when we finally open the “caratelli “. The vinsanto that distinguishes itself for aroma and intensity is chosen to produce our Vinsanto Reserve. It is put into smaller barrels, blackened by time and allowed to age for other three years, without the wine yeast. The remaining wine is bottled and practically ready to taste. The empty barrels are cleaned and the wine yeast is prepared to receive the grape must of this year’s harvest and the mysterious and fascinating process starts all over again.
Vinsanto del Chianti DOC
Liquorous amber-coloured dessert wine, made from selected white grapes (Tuscan Malvasia, Trebbiano, Cannaiolo and San Colombano) that have a persistent fruity flavour with hints of honey. The vinsanto is left to mature for a further three years in “caratelli” made from chestnut-wood.
Vinsanto del Chianti Riserva DOC
Liquorous dessert wine, classified as a “meditation wine”, the term is used to describe complex wines that are to be sipped and enjoyed in solitude in front of the fireside, during the cold winter months. It has an extraordinarily persistent and intense flavour; its colour ranges from pink to light salmon-orange that we call “occhio di pernice” in Italian (‘partridge’s eye’). Our Reserve is made from Tuscan Malavasia, Trebbiano, Cannaiolo and San Colombano. It is then left to mature for at least five years in “caratelli” made from chestnut or oak.
