All about sweet wine

Sweet wine is always made by concentrating the sugar in the grapes one way or another. This can be done by harvesting the overripe fruit late, for example. Or by drying the grapes, as is the case with the majority of sweet Italian wines. Or else by freezing the water in the grapes, like they do with ice wine, which ensures that only the sweet juice is extracted during the pressing. Whichever method the winemaker chooses, producing sweet wine is an elaborate process and the yields are small. In view of this, many of these elixirs are real bargains!

Our own sweet wine! In contrast to the «classic» Vin Santo made from white grapes, Occhio di Pernice (partridge eye in English) is pressed from red Sangiovese grapes. Lavish notes of dried fruit, banana, forest honey and tobacco on the nose, accompanied by the Vin Santo-typical hints of oxidation. A real one of a kind!

Need some refreshment? Mix your choice of sweet wine with tonic water and garnish with a slice of lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit. That will reinvigorate you!

Of all the wines in the world, sweet wines have some of the longest life spans. A sweet wine can easily last 20 years in the cellar and the best examples are practically everlasting.

Sweet and sparkling, who could resist? Piedmont puts forth two sparkling sweet wine specialities at once with the white Moscato d’Asti and the red Bracchetto d’Acqui. Psst, these examples pair incredibly well with chocolate – Bracchetto with the dark stuff, Moscato with the white.