Chinato - Pure Pleasure

Chinato is one of our favorite, special and complex aperitif or after dinner drinks…also great for mixing. We prefer it as an aperitif, chilled or with just one large ice cube with a slice of orange., Having said that, we are sure your will find your own way of enjoying this amazing infused wine. It is primarily made from a base of Barolo, but we offer here one made from Moscato that is a bit of heaven. We have included three definitions of Chinato (pronounced key-Not-Oh) so you can sense what people think it is and tastes like. - Dorothy & Bernie Follow the Drinker®

Barolo Chinato is a very complex aromatised wine - velvety and fruity, yet spicy and slightly bitter with quinine. Typical flavour notes include: berries and dried fruit (mulberry, plum, strawberry and damson), spice, dried and fresh herbs, tobacco, tar, roses, camphor, chocolate, eucalyptus, leather, tannins, tobacco, liquorice, cinnamon, cloves, gentian, mint and white truffles. Lingering quinine leaves a dry finish rather than the sweet fruitiness of regular dessert wines. - Diffordsguide.com

As I sipped a glass of Barolo Chinato (pronounced key-NOT-o) after dinner at the bar at Ava Gene's in Portland, Oregon, I wasn't thinking about the ancient Egyptians, who mixed their wines with healing herbs. Nor was I considering the Bronze Age Persians, who dosed wine with spices and occasionally poppies or marijuana. "For as long as human beings have been imbibing alcohol," writes Adam Ford, "they have been infusing their fermented beverages with various herbs, spices, barks, roots, petals, and other edible plant parts." But I was just focused on how wonderful the chinato tasted, its hints of orange peel and mint, robust red wine, and dusty cocoa. - Maggie Hoffman seriouseats.com

Chinato, as I found out, is an aromatized wine, somewhere in between a vermouth and an amaro, almost exclusively from Piedmont, Italy. Unlike vermouth makers, chinato producers use high quality wine as their base. We’re talking DOCG, the highest classification for Italian wine. While Moscato Chinato—like the one I tried—is a popular option, chinato is traditionally (and most commonly) made with Barolo, a much-lauded Piedmontese wine made from Nebbiolo grapes. - Dillon Mafit thrillist.com