I wrote this post about Susanna many years ago. I am reposting it today because it i birthday yesterday and because I am writing about women all month long for Women’s History month. We’ve been friends now for a long time now, 16 years and I have come to appreciate Susanna and her wines in so many ways. Buon compleanno amica mia!
This is an edited version of my original post:
I have been tasting and drinking Susanna’s wines for many years now and think they are terrific. My favorite is her Vin Santo.
Wine has been made in Montepulciano for 2500 years starting with the Etruscan King Porsenna. Throughout the centuries it has been a favorite of illustrious men including two American statesmen, Thomas Jefferson and Vian Buren.
The Consorzio for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was created in 1965 and it became a DOCG wine or Denominazione d’orgine controllata e garantita in 1980, long before many other famous wines. Most of the vineyards are located at between 250 and 600 meters above sea level. Vino Nobile spends at least one year aging in wood and another in the bottle before it is released into the market. Many producers put it into oak barrels for a longer period of time. In order to have the denomination, Riserva on the label, the wine must spend three years aging with at least six months in the bottle.
Reflecting on her Vino Nobile, Susanna noted “This wine can age 10 to 15 years easily,” She added. The 2007 bottling was her first without her dear brother Giorgio who passed away in May 2007 at the too young age of 50. Susanna has dedicated a wine to Giorgio called Il Segreto di Giorgio. She refuses to say what’s in the wine and smiles enigmatically when I press her.
She also has a wine dedicated to her father, Arnaldo, which isn’t sold in the United States, at least not yet. I love that wine and drink it happily everytime I visit her at her Agritourism farm called Le Cantastorie look forward to going back soon, maybe this summer or next, if I am lucky. It’s been a long time.
In the meantime, I look forward to seeing her at Vinitaly. I haven’t been to the fair since before the pandemic. At that time, I hadn’t missed a fair in 15 years or so. I am really looking forward to going back and to seeing Susanna.
avvinare.com 
Regarding Vin Santo, I learned this summer that the original or as the folks on the island told me, the “real” Vin Santo has its origins on the Greek island of Santorini (Wine of Santorini…Vin Santo). They are produced similar to Vin Santo of Italy…sun dried to concentrate the flavor and sugars. Similarly-named Schilfwein of Austria, and I presume many other countries are variants.
Steve- Thanks for writing in. I bet the Tuscans would beg to differ about the origins of Vin Santo but no matter, what is important is that they produce the stuff.
I love dessert wines made from dried grapes, a tradition which is actually followed up and down the Italian peninsula. What I really would like is for there to be more Italian dessert wines on restaurant menus.
Susannah:
Nice post- sorry I didn’t taste the Crociani wines this past Friday, but too much going on! I’ll remember the next time.
Some interesting comments from Susanna, especially about the grape varieties being used in Vino Nobile. I do agree that this wine is being squeezed in between Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino, which is a shame, as it’s a lovely, important wine in its own right. But she is correct that the wine must have a separate identity.
Great post, and thanks for posting that conference.
Nobile definitely flies under the radar in many senses, but that also means there is good QPR there, so this may be their time to shine!
Steve, in my sommelier course here in Italy they told us that the grapes used for vin santo are/were often harvested on holy friday (?), before easter, and hence the name. Many also say it is because at one time it was the traditional wine drunk at mass. There are probably several stories!
[…] the times of crisis it is important to experiment with new ways of making yourself known,” Susanna Crociani of family-owned Crociani, the maker of full-body red Tuscan wine Nobile di Montepulciano told […]
[…] decided to start a new column on this blog called Wine of the Week. This week my favorite wine is Susanna Crociani’s Il Segreto di Giorgio 2007. I was supposed to be in Tuscany visiting Susanna this weekend but for a […]
[…] di Montepulciano Riserva 2007 DOCG from Susanna Crociani. Susanna and I are friends and I have written about her wines often in the […]
Reblogged this on avvinare and commented:
So looking forward to our trip to Italy and visiting Susanna. Vin Santo awaits!