Passerillage
The drying of grapes on the vine or on racks after harvest to concentrate sugars through dehydration — used to produce rich, sweet wines without the involvement of botrytis or freezing.
In depth
Passerillage (from the French "passer" — to pass over, referring to the process of selecting and drying grapes) concentrates grape sugars through water evaporation. It can occur in two ways: on the vine (late-harvest grapes left to shrivel in dry, warm conditions) or off the vine (grape bunches hung or laid on racks after harvest in airy spaces).
The resulting grapes are partially dehydrated — higher in sugar, acid, and flavour concentration than freshly harvested grapes. The wines produced show dried fruit, honey, marmalade, and spice characters.
Examples of passerillage wines: Jurançon Moelleux (southwest France, from Petit Manseng — grapes left to dry on the vine in autumn); Vin de Paille (straw wine — from the Jura, Alsace, and Rhône, where grapes are dried on straw mats); some Vin Santo (Tuscany — Trebbiano and Malvasia dried on racks).
Passerillage differs from botrytis-affected wines (which develop under fungal influence) and ice wine (which uses freezing). The drying mechanism is purely physical water evaporation in clean, warm conditions.
Related exam topics
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between passerillage and appassimento?
- Both are grape-drying methods that concentrate sugar for sweet wines, but the terminology differs by country. Passerillage is the French term; appassimento is Italian. Both describe post-harvest drying of grapes in airy conditions. The most famous appassimento wine is Amarone della Valpolicella. Classic passerillage wines include Jurançon Moelleux and Vin de Paille. The technique is the same — the difference is regional naming convention.
Practise questions on this topic
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