Astoria Fervo Refrontolo Passito

From the hills around Refrontolo in Italy’s Veneto, this is one of the region’s rarest sweet wines, made entirely from Marzemino grapes dried after harvest to concentrate their sugars and aromas.

The result is deep garnet in the glass with the intensity typical of passito wines. The nose opens with dried blackberry and fig, followed by fresh cherry, subtle spice, and darker notes of chocolate and liquorice. The palate is velvety and generous, with ripe blackberry and loganberry flavours balanced by Marzemino’s naturally lively acidity, so the sweetness never turns cloying. Fine tannins add structure, leading to a long, chocolatey finish with lingering berry fruit and an elegant bitter-sweet edge.

Serve lightly chilled with dark chocolate desserts, berry puddings, tiramisù or panna cotta. In the Veneto it’s also poured alongside aged Asiago for a classic sweet-savoury pairing, or with roasted chestnuts and zaletti biscuits in the cooler months.