Everything about Straw Wine totally explained
Straw Wine, or
raisin wine, is a
wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the
ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under cover, some hang up the grapes, and the straw may be replaced by modern racks. The technique dates back to pre-Roman times, and most production of these wines has been in Northern Italy and the French Alps. However producers in other areas are now starting to experiment with the method.
Straw wines are typically sweet to very sweet white wines, similar in density and sweetness to
Sauternes and capable of long life. The low yields and labour-intensive production method means that they're quite expensive. Around Verona red grapes are dried, and are fermented in two different ways to make a dry red wine (
Amarone) and a sweet red wine (Recioto della Valpolicella).
History
There are references to golden sweet wines in the Mediterranean during Phoenician times. A dried grape wine known as the Cypriot Manna was described in 800 BC by the Greek poet Hesiod.
The first description of the production of a raisin wine comes from Columella in the first century AD, writing about the
Passum wine made in ancient Carthage. The modern Italian name for these wines, passito, echoes this ancient word. Perhaps the closest thing to passum is Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, made from
Zibibbo, a variety of the ancient muscat grape, on an island in the Malta Channel opposite where Carthage used to be.
France
Vin de Paille is the French for 'straw wine', made only in the ripest vintages. Perhaps the best known example is made in the Cotes du Jura (Arbois and sometimes L'Etoile) from a blend of
Chardonnay,
Savagnin and the red grape
Poulsard. Vins de paille are also made from
Marsanne in
Hermitage, and from
Riesling in
Alsace. From
Corrèze, his name is
Vin Paillé. Traditionally the grapes are placed indoors on straw mats for up to three months, and the final wine has 10-20% residual sugar, with flavours of peaches and apricots.
Producers in the Jura include Gaspard Feuillet, Chateau Béthanie, Domaine Berthet-Bondet, Frédéric Lornet and Henri Maire.
Austria/Germany
In
Austria,
Strohwein or Schilfwein is a separate
Prädikat for straw wine with the same
must weight requirements as
Beerenauslese (which is typically made from grapes affected by
noble rot). This is in principle to Vin de Paille, but is rather rare. In Germany, no official designation exist for straw wines.
Greece/Cyprus
Some raisin wines are produced in Greece and Cyprus. The classic accompaniment is
Pandoro, Verona's version of
panettone.
Torcolato is also
passito style white wine from the region. It has a warm golden color and sweet flavor, pleasantly persistent, round and thick; it's an excellent dessert wine, one of the top national wines. It is produced in
Breganze,along the Strada (or Wine Road) between the
Astico and
Brenta rivers, in the strip of land between the city of
Bassano del Grappa and the
Valdastico valley. Another match up that could be recommended is between bussolà and
Verduzzo Friulano(from
Friuli). Not to be confused with other types of Verduzzo produced in the Po Plain, this wine, produced in the Friuli hills, is sweet, full-bodied.
More famous are the passito wines made from the blend of red wine grapes typical of
Valpolicella : 40-70%
Corvina, 20-40%
Rondinella and 5-25%
Molinara. The grapes are dried on traditional straw mats or on racks on the valley slopes.
There are two styles of red passito produced in Veneto. If fermentation is complete, the result is
Amarone della Valpolicella ("
Amarone" - literally "extra bitter", as opposed to sweet). Amarone is a very ripe, raisiny red wine with very little acid, often >15% alcohol (the legal minimum is 14%). Typically Amarone is released five years after the vintage, even though this isn't a legal requirement. The
pomace left over from pressing off the Amarone is used in the production of
ripasso Valpolicellas. Amarone was awarded
Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in December 1990.
If fermentation is incomplete, the result is a sweet red wine called
Recioto della Valpolicella. Fermentation may get stuck for various reasons, including low nutrient levels, high alcohol or
Botrytis metabolites. Grapes dried in the valley bottoms are more prone to
noble rot and are favoured for Recioto, whereas grapes intended for Amarone are dried on the higher slopes to avoid
Botrytis.
Recioto della Valpolicella is regarded as a good companion to
chocolate desserts because of the high acidity in
cocoa.
South Africa
De Trafford created the first Vin de Paille to be released under the new appellation "
Wine from Naturally Dried Grapes" in 1997. They use 100%
Chenin Blanc.
Spain
Pedro Ximénez grapes are dried in the sun before being vinified, fortified and matured in a
solera system like other
sherries.
USA
Some California wineries are experimenting with the vin de paille style. Tablas Creek make one from 100% roussanne and one from 50% viognier, 25% grenache blanc, and 25% marsanne, reflecting the influence of co-owner Beaucastel, while boutique winery Sine Qua Non makes one from 100% semillon.
In Texas, it was illegal to make wine from dried grapes until 1999, when following pressure from Shawn and Rocko Bruno, who wanted to recreate the raisin wines of their Sicilian heritage, the Alcoholic Beverage Code was amended.
Straw wine in popular culture
Further Information
Get more info on 'Straw Wine'.
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