Colli di Conegliano Refrontolo is a sweet, dried-grape passito wine made from Marzemino grapes grown in the hills around Conegliano, in Veneto, north-eastern Italy. Although the Conegliano area is more often associated with its sparkling Prosecco wines, it is also home to two respected sweet wines made in the passito style. These are Colli di Conegliano Torchiato di Fregona and Colli di Conegliano Refrontolo.
The production process is similar to that used to make other straw wines (vin de paille in French and strohwein in German), and Tuscany's famous vin santo. After the grapes are harvested, typically at high maturity levels, they are left to dry on straw mats for weeks or even months. During this time they gradually desiccate, their sugars becoming ever more concentrated in relation to their water content. When gently pressed, the juice the grapes release is a golden syrupy liquid full of natural sweetness and flavor. Ideally the grapes' acidity levels at the point of harvest were such that the sugar is balanced by refreshing acidity, encouraging a fresh sweetness rather than a cloying stickiness. Once aged in barrel for a year, the wine's color darkens to a deep gold (this turns to amber with further ageing) and the wine is ready for sale of long-term cellaring.
