Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG-

San Gimignano is an ancient, towered city not far from Sienna in Tuscany.  It is a beautiful place and popular tourist stop in Tuscany.   You can see the skyline of these ancient towers from miles away.  (See photo above)

I asked myself why were all these towers build in this small community? 

From what I can understand, in medieval times the rich people had to outdo each other by building higher (towered) homes than the other.  At one point there were 62 towers constructed, some over 200 ft high.  The black plague wiped out half the residents and so the city never quite recovered, but now it’s a popular tourist destination.  

 The white grape is Vernaccia.  It has a pale yellow color in the glass, medium-bodied and nice citrus fruit flavors. 

Like most Italian wines, there is some lovely acidity to pair with many foods. 

This grape is the pride of the town and surrounding area.  They produce enough to make it available almost everywhere. 

Those of you who have been to San Gimignano, probably had a glass or two for lunch as the “house” white wine of the region.  I am sure you can recall that it was quite delicious.

If they want to make a Riserva it must be aged for at least one year, of which 4 months is in bottle. 

Now there are some producers that are using small oak barrels (barrique) to give it more body and golden color.  Probably to appeal to the American markets need for something like Chardonnay. 

Not as much production of the oaked versions compared to the basic stainless steel wines.

The wine is distinct in a pleasing way.  Many Italian whites are not as bold flavored, in- our-face kind of wines.  Their soft subtleties need some time and patience to come forth.  Vernaccia has decent strength to be enjoyed with or without food.

Three styles of Vernaccia

di San Gimignano DOCG- 

Annata- This is the most widely known style.  No aging or oak.  A crisp, light, dry wine.  Your basic table white wine.  Tasty!

Selezione- Means "select" vines or vineyard sites & can have some aging & oak influence.  These tend to have more fruit & complexity.

Riserva- Generally, better quality grapes aged at least a year (mostly in barrel) with at least 4 months in the bottle.  These have more roundness of fruit and more body weight.

The DOCG boundries are the same as the commune of San Gimignano boundries.  

This smaller white wine DOCG lies within the larger Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG (red).

Food Pairings-

Vernaccia with its medium-bodied, citrus, and decent acidity provide many options for good pairing with food.  Most fish, chicken, turkey, pork, olive oil-based sauces, pesto sauce/pastas, white pizzas, and most vegetable dishes.  Antipasto dishes with salami or prosciutto would be fine. Appetizers too!   

Most cheeses would agree with it, but I think a strong blue cheese would overpower the wine.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of having Vernaccia in your mouth, I highly recommend you try a bottle soon.  My mouth is watering for one right now just talking about it!  I will check with 80/Twenty Wines to see if they can get some more!

Vin Santo-

Vin Santo, or holy wine, is a dessert wine that is produced in several regions of Italy but we will discuss Tuscany’s version.

Vin Santo is made by drying out the Trebbiano (also Malvasia can be use, even Sangiovese in some cases) grapes for a period of time and then crushing the raisins.  This releases what juice is left from the raisins and then begins to ferment. 

The drying out of the grapes concentrates the flavors and leaves the residual sugars intact to sweeten the wine.   

After the wine is fermented, (which can take a long time, depending on the producer) it is then placed in barrels for aging.

Each producer has their "process".  According to Felsina, (pictured on the right) they leave a thick substance from the previous vintage, (known as the "mother") in the barrel. The new vintage is put in the previous vintage barrel with the mother in it and then they are aged together.

Kind of reminds me of sour dough, but it's not!

Another point of interest in this particular Vin Santo from Felsina, is that is produced from 3 grapes.  It is mostly Trebbiano, some Malvasia, and little bit of Sangiovese.

The minimum aging requirement is 3 years, but I have seen much older ones in the marketplace.  

This aging in the oak turns the wine golden, even looking like light honey in the bottle/glass.

Speaking of aging, Vin Santo can age for decades in the bottle. 

I feel it’s better to open the bottle and partake of the deliciousness, rather than look at the bottle in the cellar. 

But if you forget you have a bottle, you can know it will be good for a while.

Generally, the wine is around 14%-15% alcohol, which is dry.  (Cabernet Sauvignon runs between 14-15.5% alc) This is why Vin Santo is so much fun.

Sip this thick wine and get this lovely honey flavor permeate through the nose and mouth and then when swallowed, a soft semi-dry finish.

Enjoy the tropical dried fruit flavors without the candied sweetness, just more luscious honey flavors leading to an interesting complex finish.   

There can be variations to the finished product, more sweet, less sweet, semi-sweet, there doesn’t seem to be restrictive rules on what it should be.  Consequently, there could be differences from producer to producer, from year to year.

If you require consistency in your Vin Santo, it’s probably not going to work out for you.

This wine is crazy good!  I poured Vin Santo in my wine appreciation class and was amazed again about the wonderfulness of this wine. 

Those in attendance all agreed it was wonderful.  Even the “I don’t drink sweet wine” people were enjoying it. 

It’s not cheap, but worth every penny in my book!  A couple ounces of this nectar of the gods after a great meal will make you forget about that Tiramisu you were going to have. 

If you haven’t had the pleasure of Vin Santo, I highly recommend you get some soon. 

Chill it down in the fridge and share with someone you love!

I little warning about Vin Santo and other dessert style wines, is to not drink too much. 

They go down quite easily and don’t hit you until a bit later.  They hit hard too! 

My worst moments of having too much fun during an amazing dinner with wine, was when port or Vin Santo was the final touch of a great dinner.  That second or third helping of these wines can put on a hurt later.

Food Suggestions:  The traditional Italian food to have with Vin Santo is biscotti.  The tradition is to dip the Italian cookie into the wine like a donut in milk. 

Vin Santo is an excellent wine with blue cheese from anywhere in the world. 

Gorgonzola is the Italian blue cheese.  It is milder & creamier than most other blue cheeses.  This would be a lovely pairing. 

Most salty things like prosciutto or salami would be nice too.  I have mixed emotions over serving dessert foods with it. 

For me, the contrast is better than the complement. For you, it might be the other way around. 

Once again, finding out what works best for you is more fun than reading my point of view!  Experimenting is super fun!

TREBBIANO- 

Trebbiano is a white grape that grows quite profusely in not only Tuscany, but also in Abruzzo and in Umbria. 

In fact, this little-known grape is the largest produced wine by volume in the world.  (This grape is known as Ugni Blanc in France, and is used to make cognac)

For years it was the white wine required by Chianti producers to mix in with the Sangiovese in making Chianti. 

Truly the table white wine of Tuscany now with its food friendly acidity and a soft, clean finish.

Trebbiano is another wine that evolves with the influence of oak.  The oak aging gives the wine more body and more complexity.

A good example is TREBBIANO D’ABRUZZO DOC – from producer -VALENTINI.  This wine is compared to cru white Burgundy or northern Rhone whites.  More about this wine when we get to Abruzzo. 

Hopefully, more Tuscan producers will produce more barrel aged Trebbianos for the world to enjoy.

Most Trebbiano is made in stainless steel or cement tanks, rather than in oak barrels.  It is more economical for wine makers to use oak barrels for the reds than for Trebbiano.

If you are a California Chardonnay drinker, Trebbiano will be almost like water to you.  Trebbiano is pale in color, lighter in style, with soft citrus and apple flavors and medium acidity.  This is a great starter wine for the evening.

Food Pairing:  The subtleties of the wine are more pronounced with the accompaniment of food.  The acids make a nice pairing with fish, pesto, appetizers and vegetables.  A good thirst quencher on a hot day for sure. Great wine to start off the dinner!

It would be a great addition to a recipe that calls or white wine.  Trebbiano for the cook, and Trebbiano for the pan!

Other Whites of Note- 

MALVASIA TOSCANO- A short mention of Malvasia grape grown primarily for blending in & enhancing other wines.  

Yes, there are some Malvasia single varietal wines made, but not many.

This white grape is aromatic, a bit fruitier, with good minerality. 

Think of it like the background singers of a band, harmonizing the song.

CHARDONNAY-  Chardonnay is grown almost everywhere these days, and Italy is no exception. 

The Chardonnays I have tasted from Tuscany have been quite good.  Felsina makes a terrific Chardonnay.  Nicely oaked and not overbearingly so.  Great balance, elegance and lots of flavor.

We are seeing more and more Chardonnay being grown in Tuscany and blended with Trebbiano.  They are naming these wines "Tuscano Bianco".  They are lovely wines if you can find them!

Ciao Ciao!