The 6th of November of each year marks the first day of sale of the year's vino novello, a typical autumn flavour, especially in northern and central Italy. Tasting the year's first wine makes it possible to anticipate the character and colour of the new vintage.
Although vino novello has been made for several decades, it is only in the last ten to fifteen years that a real trend has spread all over the world.
But for a lot longer, in the month of December, in all the farms and holiday farms of the Chianti region, as well as in its wine shops, bars and restaurants, people have been taking part in this very pleasant yearly appointment: vino novello tasting.
To fully appreciate its freshness and original taste, vino novello must be consumed within a few months of the grape harvest, better still if the tasting comes with (light) first courses, delicate (white and red) meats and fresh cheeses. Vino novello also goes well with chestnuts, roasted or boiled, as well as dishes made with chestnut flour, like castagnaccio, very popular in Tuscany and in the Chianti region.
Vino novello is made by a process known as carbonic maceration. This type of winemaking, devised by a team of French researchers in 1934, consists of filling a large tank with whole grapes and sealing it up for 7-20 days at a temperature of about 30°C, after having saturated the tank with carbon dioxide. The wine obtained from carbonic maceration has a particularly intense colour, with tints bordering on purple, while the aromas of the fermentation have a large say on the flavour.
In the month of December Albergo del Chianti staff may accompany you or tell you where to go for the best Chianti vini novelli and suggest the best restaurants and trattorias for tasting these wines accompanied by typical local products that go well with them.
Book now and give your palate a real treat with a fantastic Chianti novello, plus other gastronomic specialities of our territory... it is a veritable mystical experience.
But also cocktail bar, because in addition to wine, however good it may be, there is more
