Italian Sweet Wine

Italian sweet wines come in all shapes and sizes – and while the category is not the largest among the country’s wealth of wine styles, there are several worth noting. Vin Santo, from Tuscany, is made from grapes dried either on straw mats or hung out in humid rooms, in the ‘passito’ process that concentrates the sugars, the subsequent honeyed, nutty flavours further accentuated by barrel ageing. A similar technique is used in the Passito di Pantelleria from the southern island, here with the dried grapes added to fresh must from a second, later harvest. The bright, light flavours of the sparkling Moscato d’Asti, meanwhile, come from an abbreviated fermentation, trapping carbon dioxide and sugars, and yielding a delightfully sweet, low-alcohol fizz.