🍷 Passito

Passito is an Italian wine from partly dried grapes, most often sweet. The word comes from the Italian passire, to wither or dry. After harvest the bunches are dried for weeks or months on racks or straw, or hung up, and then pressed. Shrivelled berries give little juice, but it is very sweet and aromatic.

The method is tied to appassimento and straw wines in general. Passito is made all over Italy: in Veneto, Tuscany, Sicily and on the island of Pantelleria. Tuscan Vin Santo is also a kind of passito. There are sweet, off-dry and dry passitos, red and white. The taste includes raisin, honey, apricot and nuts.

Passito belongs to Italian wine and is regarded as a dessert wine. It is served with cheese, biscuits and sweet pastry, often in small servings. The drink is costly because the berries lose much water and the work takes time. If a label says passito, the grapes were dried before pressing.