Italian Dessert Wine

There’s far more to dessert wine than Port. In fact, Italy offers the world’s largest variety of sweet wines. They include such legendary white wines as Tuscan Vin Santo, and passito Moscato Bianco with aromatic notes of jasmine, mangos, pineapple, and acacia honey. If you prefer concentred sweet reds with aromas of maraschino cherry and chocolate, then Recioto della Valpolicella is the perfect sweet wine for you.

Shop our collection below, or read our detailed guide to Italian sweet wines.

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Guide to Italian Dessert wine: from Vin Santo to pink Moscato

Key Italian sweet wines

With over 600 officially recognised grapes (and many more local grapes waiting to be listed), Italy crafts more distinct sweet wines than any other country. Some of those wines are legendary: not only in Italy, but around the world.

These wines are produced from air-dried grapes, using the appassimento method. The process of drying concentrates the aromas, acids and sugars in the grape, and ultimately in the wine. Perhaps the most noble Italian sweet wines include:

Vin Santo
Moscadello di Montalcino
Moscato Bianco passito
Moscato Rosa/Rosenmuskateller passito
Zibibbo/Moscato di Alessandria (Pantelleria) passito
Recioto della Valpolicella
Barolo Chinato
Vino Santo
Ramandolo

As consumer tastes changed from sweet to dry wine, sweet winemaking decreased in volume. Today's wineries mostly produce tiny volumes for special occasions like Easter or Christmas, or as top-quality bottlings to be savoured by connoisseurs and enthusiasts.

Let’s have a closer look at the most important Italian sweet wines.

Vin Santo

The taste of Vin Santo

Vin Santo is the signature sweet wine of Tuscany. It's crafted in a unique way, in small barrels sealed with beeswax.

The white Vin Santo tastes like caramelised orange, almond and ginger. It gains its aromatic character from Malvasia Bianca Lunga (locally known as Malvasia del Chianti). But its main grape is Trebbiano Toscano. While this grape is known for dry white wines with extremely subtle flavours, it really shines when it's air-dried and aged.

The pink version, Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice (“partridge eye”), is made from Sangiovese. Sometimes, during the drying time, grapes are affected by muffa nobile (noble rot) which lends more complex flavours. Of course, it’s quite rare in the dry Tuscan climate.

How Vin Santo is made

On the surface, Vin Santo is a passito wine made from air-dried grapes. But this is where similarities with other passito wines – such as Pantelleria or Sardinian sweet Moscato Bianco – end. Vin Santo is made in a very unique, traditional way, which is not used anywhere else in Italy.

First – similar to other passito wines – the bunches of Malvasia and Tebbiano grapes are air-dried. The drying takes place in indoor drying lofts, where the bunches are suspended from trellises on the roof. Air drying reduces the amount of water and concentrates the natural flavours and sugars. Usually, the drying process lasts from August until December. But in some cases, when the winemaker wishes to concentrate the flavours more, the appassimento may stretch as far as March.

At times, muffa nobile (noble rot) may develop on the grape skins while the appassimento is taking place. In this case, grapes develop stronger desirable aromas of almond, ginger and dried apricot.

After drying, the grapes are pressed and the juice is put into caratelli. Those are small, 50-litre barrels, which have been used many times over.

The secret ingredient of Vin Santo is madre. This is a thick layer of lees and old Vin Santo, left over at the bottom of caratello from multiple previous generations. Madre retains the special “house flavour” of Vin Santo, and passes it on to the newly added juice.

Caratelli are sealed with beeswax, and placed in the ageing room – vinsantaia. Because these rooms are not temperature-controlled, the fermentation starts in spring when the outdoor temperature rises. It then naturally stops in autumn, as the ambient temperature becomes cooler.

Local wine laws set the minimal duration of ageing, and this changes across Toscana. Typically, Vin Santo will ferment and mature in vinsantaia for several years – usually at least two or three years. But truly excellent Vin Santos are matured for more than five years.

Vin Santo levels of sweetness

Depending where you are in Toscana, you can find Vin Santo made with several sweetness levels.

In the broader area of “Chianti” (which includes areas around Pisa, Firenze, and Siena), Vin Santo can be made as Secco (dry), Abboccato (medium-dry), Amabile (semi-sweet), or Dolce (sweet).

To better understand those levels of sweetness, we should consider the amount of residual sugar in wine. Now, those levels are defined by law:

Secco (dry) max 4 g/l RS
Abboccato (medium-dry) max 12g/l RS
Amabile (semi-sweet) max 45g/l RS
Dolce (sweet) over 45g/l RS

Here’s where Vin Santo del Chianti and Vin Santo del Chianti Classico differ. The type produced in the mountains of Chianti Classico is always dolce (sweet), as no other variations are permitted by the disciplinare.

Where Vin Santo is made

This truly exceptional wine is produced in many denominations across Toscana. Having said that, only four of them are specifically dedicated to this wine:

Vin Santo del Chianti DOC
Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC
Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC
Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC (north of Florence).

But even they only produce Vin Santo in tiny quantities. The biggest appellation, Vin Santo del Chianti DOC, sells fewer than 380,000 bottles per year; Vin Santo di Montepulciano nets around 20 thousand [2].

For the true enthusiasts of this heavenly wine, here’s a full list of Tuscan appellations that can produce Vin Santo. The truth is, each of them may produce a little wine only for the local market rather than for export.

North Tuscany

Candia dei Colli Apuiani DOC (on the western slopes of the Apuan Alps, leading to the Ligurian Sea)
Montecarlo DOC and Colline Lucchesi (near the town of Lucca)

Maremma Toscana

Montescudaio DOC (north of the famous Bolgheri)
Montereggio di Massa Maritima DOC (in central Maremma, sandwiched between the Metellifere hills and coast of the Tyrrhenian sea, facing the Isola d’Elba)
Montecucco DOC (in south Maremma on the red clay hills stretching between the dormant volcano of Mount Amiata and the medieval town of Grosseto)
Bianco di Pitigliano DOC (specialises in Trebbiano-based white wines, and surrounds the medieval town of Pitigliano, known as “Little Jerusalem”)
Maremma Toscana DOC (a large appellation on the border with Lazio. It permits many grape varieties and wine styles, including Vin Santo)
Other Vin Santo-producing appellations include Capalbio DOC and Parrina DOC

Central Toscana

San Gimignano DOC covers the same area as the famous Vernaccia di San Gimighano DOCG. Essentially it is a “second appellation” that permits producers to grow a wide range of grapes and make various red and white wines, including Vin Santo.
Other denominations producing Vin Santo include Colli dell’Etruria Centrale DOC, San Torpè DOC, Valdinievole DOC, and Bianco dell’Empolese DOC.

Eastern Toscana

Cortona DOC (the easternmost appellation of Toscana, lying on the border with Umbria near Lake Trasimeno. It permits both Vin Santo and Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice).
Valdichiana Toscana DOC (lies along the Arno river, north of Cortona DOC).

Moscato dessert wines

Moscato is a family of aromatic grapes known for their delightful tropical and floral flavours. In this Sweet Wine Guide, we cover a few famous wines from this family. However, as Moscato wines are so important to Italy’s culture and lifestyle, we also have a dedicated guide to Moscato wines where you can learn more.

Moscadello di Montalcino

This is another delicious passito wine from Toscana, made following ancient traditions. This appellation lies on exactly the same land as the famous Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.

By law, Moscadello wine must be based on at least 85% Moscato Bianco. It can be finished as either still or frizzante, but the best version of all is vendemmia tardiva (late harvest).

Today, Moscadello is very rare and exclusive. With less than 10 hectares planted (!), it can only be bought from a few wineries. We were excited to secure some of this beautiful wine for our UK customers.

Moscato Bianco passito

Moscato Bianco is the aromatic grape behind Italy’s most iconic dessert wines. After air-drying, the aromas and flavours become intensely concentrated. Moscato wines offer intense aromas of mango, pineapple, honey and caramel.

In Alto Adige, Moscato is blended with another aromatic grape – Gewürztraminer – creating a delightful sweet wine with mesmerising flavours of melon, elderflower and quince interlaced with notes of apple cake, cinnamon, and dried apricots.

Moscato Rosa/Rosenmuskateller passito

Look out for Moscato Rosa – a very rare Moscato wine that tastes like sweet red rose nectar in a glass. This grape (known in Alto Adige under its German name Rosenmuskateller) is rare, with only seventy hectares planted across all of Italy.

In the glass, Rosenmuskateller wine offers flavours of dried red rose, pomegranate, strawberry jam and mulled wine spices.

Recioto della Valpolicella

Recioto is a noble ancient wine that has been known since the 4th Century AD. It tastes like maraschino cherry and dark chocolate.

Recioto is made from three red grapes – Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella – known as the Valpolicella formula. The disciplinare permits up to 25% other traditional grapes like Molinara, Oseleta and Negrara Veronese. By law, only 65% of the best grapes of the vintage can be used to produce Recioto (the same rule applied to Amarone). This makes Recioto the most prized wine of the estates that make it.

Grapes are air-dried (appassimento) in fruttaio, in a similar way to Amarone (read our Guide to Amarone and Valpolicella).

The dried grapes, with their concentrated aromas, are pressed and fermented. Once the wine reaches the desired level of alcohol, it is chilled. This stops fermentation, but leaves a lot of unfermented sugar which contributes to Recioto’s luscious texture.

If the fermentation is allowed to continue until all sugar is transformed into alcohol, it will become Amarone – essentially a dry version of Recioto.

Vino Santo

Vino Santo is different from Vin Santo. It's produced far away from Tuscany in the Alpine province of Trentino, in Italy’s north-east. The Vino Santo zone lies in Valle dei Laghi (“The valley of the lakes”), along the Sarca river, north of Lake Garda.

Nosiola is the grape used to craft Vino Santo. Nosiola grapes are dried using the appassimento process, for as long as 5-6 months. The humid mornings north of Lake Garda are perfect for the development of muffa nobile. It gently pierces the skins of Nosiola grapes, partially drying them and lending its own complex aromas of almond, ginger and dried apricots.

Ramandolo

Ramandolo DOCG is a traditional sweet wine made from 100% Verduzzo Giallo (locally known as Ramandolo). It comes from the hills in the comunes of Nimis and Tarcento, 10 km north of Udine in Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Vineyards are planted on the southern slopes of the hills. The grapes are typically picked in late October/early November, creating the vendemmia tardiva (late harvest) style with more concentrated flavours. Grapes are then dried further, in fruttaio, to increase the level of sugar.

The resulting Ramandolo wine has aromas of white and yellow flowers, tropical fruits, stone fruits and nuts. In the glass, it offers flavours of acacia, daffodil, honey, tropical fruits, ginger, apricot and almond.

Sources:

[1] MiPAAF
[2] ISMEA

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