🍷 Sforzato

Sforzato is a dry red wine from semi-dried Nebbiolo grapes, made in Valtellina in northern Italy. Sforzato, also spelled sfursat, is a dry red wine made from semi-dried Nebbiolo grapes. It is produced in Valtellina, an Alpine valley in Lombardy in northern Italy. There Nebbiolo is called Chiavennasca. The vineyards lie on steep terraces above the Adda river.

After harvest the grapes are laid out to dry for several months. This is called appassimento. The berries lose water, and the sugar in them becomes more concentrated. Then the wine is made and fermented to dryness. That is why Sforzato is very rich and strong, usually at least 14 percent alcohol. It has no sweetness, though the taste is dense, with notes of dried berries, plum and spice.

The word sforzato means forced or strained: the dried berries give more concentration. The wine is usually aged in barrels and then kept in bottles for several years.

It is an example of an Italian wine for which grapes are dried to get a denser taste. A related example is Amarone.

The grapes spend about three months in ventilated rooms called fruttai and lose roughly 30% of their water there. Winemaking may not start before 1 December. After that the DOCG asks for 20 months of ageing, at least 12 of them in wood, and the wine must be at least 90% Nebbiolo, so a bottle reaches the shelf long after the vines were picked.