Italian Sweet Wines

Italian sweet wines are very diverse. Every Italian region boasts its own unique dessert wine with individual character, made from a wide range of grape varieties and often with age-old winemaking traditions.

Italy is known for its passito method. This involves drying some or all of the grapes before fermentation which concentrates aromatics and sweetness. The result is a wine with extraordinary complexity and concentration.

• Brachetto d'Acqui [bra-ket-to-dee-ah-kwee]

  This is a semi-sparkling and bright pink wine from the Piedmont region. It is made with the native Brachetto grape. The wine is frothy and bright, with floral notes and plenty of candied fruit flavors. It’s a perfect match with chocolate desserts.

• Moscato d’Asti [mos-ka-to-dee-ah-stee]

  Also from the Piedmont region, Moscato d’Asti is a popular sweet sparkling wine made with Moscato Bianco. This grape is one of the oldest in the area, loved for its bright citrus and honeyed flavours.

• Recioto alla Valpolicella [reh-cho-to-ah-la-val-poll-lee-chell-ah]

  This wine is the sweeter cousin to the famous Amarone della Valpolicella. Made in Valpolicella, it is produced using the appassimento method of drying the grapes, which concentrates Recioto’s sweetness and dark berry flavors. The result is a full-bodied and bold sweet wine with subtle sweet and spicy notes.

• Vin Santo [veen-sahn-to]

  Vin Santo means ‘holy wine’ and is Tuscany’s iconic dessert wine. Made with dried Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, the grape bunches are hung up in a dark and cool place for months. This process creates a super nutty and caramel-like dessert wine. Traditionally, Vin Santo is enjoyed with local biscotti (cantucci) which are dunked straight into the wine.

• Passito di Pantelleria [pas-see-to-dee-pahn-tell-leh-ree-ah]

  The small, yet abundant island of Pantelleria makes one of Italy’s most impressive sweet wines. This island, just off the coast of Sicily, has a hot climate which produces some very concentrated grapes. The variety used is Zibibbo (also known as Moscato d’Alessandria). The grapes are dried which makes the resulting wine very aromatic. Passito di Pantelleria has a beautiful golden amber colour accompanied with a powerful perfume of dried fruits.

• North West

  This area is home to some of Italy’s oldest grape varieties and winemaking traditions. The Alps just to the North, and the Mediterranean sea breezes, create perfect winemaking conditions. Piedmont is the most esteemed winemaking region in the North West and produces some stellar sweet wines. The small province of Asti makes the lively Moscato d’Asti. Alessandria is home to the ancient grape Brachetto which is responsible for a gorgeously fizzy sweet pink wine. The North West’s key sweet wine regions are Piedmont and Liguria.

• North East

  This expansive area creates some exemplary sweet wines. It is very mountainous, whose slopes contribute to some exceptional vineyards. The area serves the thirsty wine drinkers that congregate in Milan and Venice. It is home to the impeccable viticulture zone of Valpolicella. This area makes bold and famous wines like Amarone della Valpolicella. Recioto della Valpolicella is its sweeter relative, with an even more intense character. The North East’s key sweet wine regions are Veneto and Fruili-Venezia Giulia.

• Central

  The central Italian area extends from the southern end of the Emilia Romagna down to the region of Lazio. The rich soils produce some excellent sweet wines. In particular, Tuscany uses local Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes to make its ‘holy wine’, Vin Santo. There are also beautiful islands off the coast with their own grape varieties. Elba, off the Western coast of Tuscany, has been making wine since Napoleonic times. The Central area’s key sweet wine regions are Tuscany and Emilia Romagna.

• South & Islands

  The South of Italy has a dry Mediterranean climate and is home to ancient grape varieties. The area also has some stunning islands, the largest and most famous being Sicily. There, the famous sweet fortified wine Marsala is produced. There is also Passito di Pantelleria, made on a tiny island just off the coast of Sicily. The South and Italian islands' key sweet wine regions are Sicily and Pantelleria.