Drink with Certa #2: Poliziano Vin Santo di Montepulciano | Certa

Vin Santo is an ancient and traditional specialty produced throughout the whole region of Tuscany.  Its origin dates back to the Middle Ages. Vine Santo means holly wine. One of the most popular theories to explain the origin of this name is that the grapes were traditionally pressed and fermented during Holy Week. It is a wine made by appassimento, a process involving drying healthy and ripe grapes on racks or straw mats in specic well-aerated rooms before they are pressed for fermentation. Although Vin Santo may be produced in various sweetness levels ranging from dry to sweet, the most common versions are sweet. There are several DOCs in Tuscany that produce Vin Santo and Vin Santo di Montepulciano is regarded as one of the best. ⁣
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Vin Santo 是托斯卡納地區一種古老且傳統的酒款。她的起源可追溯到中世紀。Vin Santo意為“聖酒”，關於其名稱來源最廣為接受的說法是因為釀酒所用的葡萄通常要在聖周（復活節之前的一周）期間壓榨，故此得名。她是一種以風乾技術釀造的葡萄酒，需在通風良好的室內將健康且成熟的葡萄放在木架或稻草席上風乾後，才進行榨汁和發酵。雖然Vin Santo可以製作成不同甜度的葡萄酒（從幹型到甜酒）, 但最常見的還是以甜酒為主。托斯卡納有不少DOC產區都可以釀造Vin Santo, Vin Santo di Montepulciano 被認為是其中最好的產區之一。

This wine shows deep amber color. The nose is very intense with walnuts, caramel, sultana, vanilla, almond biscuit, sweet and baking spices. On palate, it is luscious and warm. Rich and full bodied. The sweetness is very well balanced by high level of acidity and the finish seems lasting forever with delicious Chinese preserved plum mixed with oxidative nutty flavours. ⁣
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此酒呈深琥珀色。其香氣突出，帶有核桃、焦糖、葡萄乾、香草、杏仁餅乾以及草本香料味。入口後，感覺溫暖，柔和甜美，酒體豐厚飽滿。酒的高酸度很好地平衡了其甜度，而酒的餘韻延綿不絕，呈現話梅和果仁等成熟的氧化風味。

This is a wine perfect for drinking alone as a meditation wine as it is very well balanced and complex. You can keep sipping it without feeling clogging even though it is a sweet wine. In Tuscany, it is often consumed with cantucci, a type of hard, almond cookie, which you may find at Certa Platform. I also find it goes very well with Mooncake, the specialty for celebrating the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. I tried it with Egg Custard Mooncake and found the wine helped to bring out more buttery characters of the Mooncake and add more complexity to its flavours. As we are also approaching the hairy crab season, you may also try pair it with steamed hairy crab, which is traditionally paired with the Chinese yellow rice wine. As the oxidative characters of the Vin Santo are quite similar to the Chinese yellow rice wine, it may serve as a surprising alternative to this delicious seasonal crab. Sometime, you do need to think out of box and be creative in terms of finding more interesting food and wine pairings. Salute!  ⁣
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此酒十分平衡且複雜，是獨處淨飲的上佳之選，是一款即使不停的喝，也不會感到膩的甜酒。在托斯卡納當地，此類酒經常用來搭配cantucci（一種很硬的杏仁餅，可在Certa Plaform找到）。筆者覺得用她來搭配中秋節的特產 - 月餅效果也很不錯。筆者試過以此酒佐以奶黃月餅，發覺可以帶出月餅的奶油香味，還能提升月餅複雜的風味。另外，很快就要到大閘蟹的季節了，你不妨可以試一下以此酒來配清蒸大閘蟹。雖然傳統上配的是黃酒，但兩者在氧化的風味上卻有相似之處，因此Vin Santo可能會是替代黃酒的驚喜之選。有時候，需要跳出傳統的框框，多一些創造發揮，可能會在餐酒搭配方面找到更多有趣的組合呢。飲勝！