Vin de Paille - Straw Wine.

Vin de Paille is French for “straw wine”, which is a dessert wine produced from grapes dried on straw mats, which concentrates the juice and also increases the sugar levels. The method of drying grapes pre-dates the Roman times when wines such as Malmsey ('Malvasia' originally from Greece) and Candia (from Crete) were being made using this method.

@Grapes drying on wooden racks.

The style of the wine remains almost indistinguishable, even the method of production changes as per the region. Originally, the grapes were harvested and laid out on straw mats and sundried. Nowadays the straw mats have been substituted with plastic nets and even portable racks. The grapes are left to dry on the ground beneath the vines or left clinging on the vine with the vine-arm cut. To be called a Straw Wine, the grapes have to be cut off from the vine and then left to over-ripen before being harvested, if it still attached to the vine it becomes a 'late harvest' wine. This sun-drying process is carried out in warmer regions. In cooler regions, the entire drying process takes place indoors in huts or lofts with the grape bunches placed on racks or left hanging up with air circulation.

@Grapes kept for drying in Greece.

Vin de Paille is a speciality sweet wine of the French wine region of Jura. Vin de Paille is made at various sugar levels and requires minimum alcohol of 14% abv along with 3 years of ageing (with 18 months in Burgundian-228l oak barrel). The grapes used for making Vin de Paille in Jura are Chardonnay, Savagnin and Poulsard, with some Trousseau. Even though Pinot Noir is widely grown in the region it is not allowed to be used in this style of Jura. The residual sugar for Vin de Paille ranges from 60g/l up to about 130g/l. Vin de Paille has good acidity to balance the sugar and excellent ageing potential. Vin de Paille can be made only in the appellations Arbois, Côtes du Jura or l’Etoile of Jura. Every producer bottles their Vin de Paille in half bottles (37.5cl), which can be a standard Burgundy-style half bottle or a half of the typical Jura bottle, or even a modern, square-shouldered clear bottle. Based on an old bottle design, there is also an attractive designated Vin de Paille bottle that was introduced in around 2004, but not made obligatory to use. Vins de Paille is also made from Marsanne in Hermitage and Riesling in Alsace.

@Grapes drying on Straw.

Let’s have a look at some other Straw wines from the various parts of the world:

Austria:  Strohwein or Schilfwein is an Austrian wine term in the Prädikatswein category which indicates a straw wine. Stroh is German for straw, while Schilf means reed. The grapes have to be dried for at least of three months, either by placing the grape bunches on mats of straw or reed or by hanging the bunches up for drying by suspending them from pieces of string. However, if the grapes have reached a must weight of at least 30 ºKMW (same must weight as a Trockenbeerenauslese) after a minimum of two months then only are they allowed to be pressed.

@Domaine Rolet, Vin de Paille, Jura, Arbois, France.

Italy: The generic name for these wines is "passito". The best Tuscan example would be the Vin Santo made from hand-picked grapes which are hung from the rafters to dry. These wines are fermented in unique small cigar-shaped barrels called Caratelli, aged in the Caratelli for up to ten years.

A similar style is also made in Piedmont known as Passito di Caluso, a pleasant straw wine made from Erbaluce di Caluso grapes, it is dried for 6 months on straw mats, then after a soft pressing, it goes in oak barrels for ageing for at least 4 yrs before it is bottled.

The most popular Italian examples of straw wines come from Valpolicella. The famous Amarone Della Valpolicella ("Amarone" - literally "extra bitter", as opposed to sweet) is made from grapes are dried on traditional straw mats and is a dry red wine which is completely fermented as opposed to sweet red wine called Recioto Della Valpolicella in which the fermentation is left incomplete.

Australia:  Turkey Flat Vineyards in Barossa Valley has been successfully experimenting with this style ever since 2002 with 100% Marsanne, very cleverly named as "The Last Straw".

Article by - Kevin Rodrigues, Certified Sommelier.