Vincotto
Encyclopedia
Vincotto is a dark, sweet dense condiment produced artisanally in the Apulia
region of southeastern Italy. It is made by the slow cooking and reduction over many hours of non-fermented grape must
until it has been reduced to about one fifth of its original volume and the sugars present have caramelized. It can be made from a number of varieties of local red wine grapes including Primitivo, Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, collected after being allowed to wither naturally on the vine for about 30 days.
Vincotto has a sweet flavor, and is not a form of vinegar, though a sweet vinegar version can be produced using a vincotto as a base. This additional product is called a Vinegar of Vincotto, or Vincotto Vinegar, and can be used in the same way as a good mellow Balsamic vinegar.
Vincotto appears to be related to defrutum
and other forms of grape juice boiled down to varying strengths (carenum
, sapa
) that were produced in Ancient Rome
. Defrutum
was used to preserve, sweeten, and/or flavor many foods (including wine), by itself or with honey
or garum
. Defrutum
was also consumed as a drink when diluted with water, or fermented into a heady Roman "wine." (Note: defrutum should not be confused with passum
, a wine made from fermented raisin
s that originated in ancient Carthage
and was popular in Ancient Rome
. Passum
was therefore more similar to modern Vin Santo
than to vincotto.)
Over many centuries, the vincotto produced in the Salento
area of Apulia (the "heel" of Italy), was further developed into several different varieties of higher quality and culinary sophistication.
The Calogiuri "Originale" Vincotto version from Lizzanello is produced using Negroamaro
and Black Malvasia
grape varietals, and is cooked for some fifteen hours. The liquid is then put into oak barrels with the vinegar "mother" (starter) and aged for four years to allow it to develop a particular flavor profile and syrupy consistency. The process has overtones of a type of production method that was once used for balsamic vinegars. The term "Originale" refers to an original Calogiuri family recipe that dates back to 1825.
The Vincotto 'PrimitivO' is produced by the very slow reduction of the local very full bodied sweet Primitivo
grapes together with a sweet two-year aged Primitivo Dolcetto Naturale wine, from the vineyards and wine production of Terra del Sud in Melissano
. The resulting product is allowed to mature for a further number of months before it is ready to be consumed.
Vincotto can be used as a sweet condiment, as well as being sparingly drizzled over strongly flavored foods such as game, roast meats and poultry, aged cheeses, and risotto
.
Due to the nature of the Apulian red grapes wines are produced with very high polyphenol counts. These work as antioxidant
s and are good for health, and act as strong natural flavour enhancers when added to other ingredients in a culinary recipe.
The word "vincotto" is a generic name that cannot be registered as a trademark by any producer.
version can also used to dress salads and season cooked vegetables, and can even be used in desserts such as fruits or ice cream.
These are produced by blending a sweet matured vincotto with vinegar produced from the same red grape varieties. The resulting product is allowed to mature for several more months until it becomes "legato," which means "smooth." The result is an Apulian balsamic vinegar that can be used in the same way as a balsamic vinegar of Modena, although it does have some additional properties. Red Apulian grapes and wines exhibit a very high polyphenol count, and these act as antioxidants and as a natural flavour enhancer with other foods. They can enhance other flavours when used in a recipe, while not overpowering them, and as is usually the case with other balsamic vinegars, they can be reduced over heat without any bitter caramelization.
, carob, lemon
, orange
, raspberry
, or chili pepper
. This is an adaptation of traditional Apulian vincotto, but should not be confused with the understanding of generic Apulian vincotti.
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
region of southeastern Italy. It is made by the slow cooking and reduction over many hours of non-fermented grape must
Must
Must is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
until it has been reduced to about one fifth of its original volume and the sugars present have caramelized. It can be made from a number of varieties of local red wine grapes including Primitivo, Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, collected after being allowed to wither naturally on the vine for about 30 days.
Vincotto has a sweet flavor, and is not a form of vinegar, though a sweet vinegar version can be produced using a vincotto as a base. This additional product is called a Vinegar of Vincotto, or Vincotto Vinegar, and can be used in the same way as a good mellow Balsamic vinegar.
Vincotto appears to be related to defrutum
Defrutum
Defrutum, carenum, and sapa were reductions of must used in Ancient Roman cuisine. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, carenum;...
and other forms of grape juice boiled down to varying strengths (carenum
Defrutum
Defrutum, carenum, and sapa were reductions of must used in Ancient Roman cuisine. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, carenum;...
, sapa
Defrutum
Defrutum, carenum, and sapa were reductions of must used in Ancient Roman cuisine. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, carenum;...
) that were produced in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. Defrutum
Defrutum
Defrutum, carenum, and sapa were reductions of must used in Ancient Roman cuisine. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, carenum;...
was used to preserve, sweeten, and/or flavor many foods (including wine), by itself or with honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
or garum
Garum
Garum, similar to liquamen, was a type of fermented fish sauce condiment that was an essential flavour in Ancient Roman cooking, the supreme condiment....
. Defrutum
Defrutum
Defrutum, carenum, and sapa were reductions of must used in Ancient Roman cuisine. They were made by boiling down grape juice or must in large kettles until it had been reduced to two-thirds the original volume, carenum;...
was also consumed as a drink when diluted with water, or fermented into a heady Roman "wine." (Note: defrutum should not be confused with passum
Passum
Passum was a raisin wine apparently developed in ancient Carthage and transmitted from there to Italy, where it was popular in the Roman Empire. The earliest surviving instruction constitutes the only known Carthaginian recipe...
, a wine made from fermented raisin
Raisin
Raisins are dried grapes. They are produced in many regions of the world. Raisins may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking and brewing...
s that originated in ancient Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
and was popular in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. Passum
Passum
Passum was a raisin wine apparently developed in ancient Carthage and transmitted from there to Italy, where it was popular in the Roman Empire. The earliest surviving instruction constitutes the only known Carthaginian recipe...
was therefore more similar to modern Vin Santo
Vin santo
Vin Santo or Vino Santo is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as Occhio di Pernice or eye of the partridge...
than to vincotto.)
Over many centuries, the vincotto produced in the Salento
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
area of Apulia (the "heel" of Italy), was further developed into several different varieties of higher quality and culinary sophistication.
The Calogiuri "Originale" Vincotto version from Lizzanello is produced using Negroamaro
Negroamaro
Negroamaro, also Negro amaro, is a red wine grape variety native to southern Italy. It is grown almost exclusively in Puglia and particularly in Salento, the peninsula which can be visualised as the “heel” of Italy. The grape can produce wines very deep in color. Wines made from Negroamaro tend to...
and Black Malvasia
Malvasia
Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...
grape varietals, and is cooked for some fifteen hours. The liquid is then put into oak barrels with the vinegar "mother" (starter) and aged for four years to allow it to develop a particular flavor profile and syrupy consistency. The process has overtones of a type of production method that was once used for balsamic vinegars. The term "Originale" refers to an original Calogiuri family recipe that dates back to 1825.
The Vincotto 'PrimitivO' is produced by the very slow reduction of the local very full bodied sweet Primitivo
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
grapes together with a sweet two-year aged Primitivo Dolcetto Naturale wine, from the vineyards and wine production of Terra del Sud in Melissano
Melissano
Melissano is a town and comune in the province of Lecce, part of the Apulia region of south-east Italy....
. The resulting product is allowed to mature for a further number of months before it is ready to be consumed.
Vincotto can be used as a sweet condiment, as well as being sparingly drizzled over strongly flavored foods such as game, roast meats and poultry, aged cheeses, and risotto
Risotto
Risotto is a class of Italian dishes of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-, fish-, or vegetable-based; many kinds include Parmesan cheese, butter, and onion...
.
Due to the nature of the Apulian red grapes wines are produced with very high polyphenol counts. These work as antioxidant
Polyphenol antioxidant
A polyphenol antioxidant is a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic substructure. Numbering over 4,000 distinct species, many of these compounds have antioxidant activity in vitro but are unlikely to have antioxidant roles in vivo...
s and are good for health, and act as strong natural flavour enhancers when added to other ingredients in a culinary recipe.
The word "vincotto" is a generic name that cannot be registered as a trademark by any producer.
Agrodolce vinegars based on vincotto
Like a dense sweet balsamic "vinegar," the balsamic vincotto AgrodolceAgrodolce
Agrodolce is a traditional sweet and sour sauce in Italian cuisine. Its name comes from "agro" and "dolce" . Agrodolce is made by reducing sour and sweet elements, traditionally vinegar and sugar. Sometimes, additional flavorings are added, such as wine, fruit, or even chocolate. The sauce is...
version can also used to dress salads and season cooked vegetables, and can even be used in desserts such as fruits or ice cream.
These are produced by blending a sweet matured vincotto with vinegar produced from the same red grape varieties. The resulting product is allowed to mature for several more months until it becomes "legato," which means "smooth." The result is an Apulian balsamic vinegar that can be used in the same way as a balsamic vinegar of Modena, although it does have some additional properties. Red Apulian grapes and wines exhibit a very high polyphenol count, and these act as antioxidants and as a natural flavour enhancer with other foods. They can enhance other flavours when used in a recipe, while not overpowering them, and as is usually the case with other balsamic vinegars, they can be reduced over heat without any bitter caramelization.
Aromatized versions
Calogiuri vincotti are also produced in a variety of aromatized or flavoured versions in much in the same way as flavoured extra virgin olive oils. Locally grown fruits are used, including figFicus
Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
, carob, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
, orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, or chili pepper
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
. This is an adaptation of traditional Apulian vincotto, but should not be confused with the understanding of generic Apulian vincotti.