Grappa

Grappa is a distillate of marc produced in Italy and Italian Switzerland, which by law, unlike other distillates, does not have to be aged. The characteristics of the marc depend on the grape variety, the degree of ripeness of the grapes at harvest, the mashing and fermentation technologies, as well as the time interval and method of mashing and fermentation before starting distillation.

The freshness of the pomace, which must be full of liquid and perfectly healthy, is essential to obtain a quality Grappa. It only takes a few hours of waiting to compromise the final result. The unfermented pomace is separated directly from the must and placed in sterile, vacuum-packed steel tanks to avoid alterations and unwanted fermentation. Fermentation at a strictly controlled temperature is immediate.

The fermented marc obtained from red wine-making is separated from the wine and placed in the still as soon as possible, where it will be exhausted in its alcoholic and aromatic components. The stills used are either continuous, which are more common, or discontinuous (bain-marie or steam), while those with direct fire have almost disappeared.

If the marc is stored for a long time before distillation or its storage in silos is not technically adequate, high concentrations of methyl alcohol can occur, requiring the use of demethylation columns. Used in both continuous and discontinuous distillation apparatuses, this column removes the methyl alcohol but also many esters, acetals and other odorous substances, impoverishing the aroma of the spirit and thus worsening it in sensory terms.

Classification by zone of origin:

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• GEOGRAPHICALLY DESIGNATED GRAPPAS: grappa di barolo, grappa piemontese, grappa lombarda, grappa trentina, grappa friulana, grappa del veneto, grappa sudtiroler. These grappas are obtained in the geographical areas indicated on the label and except for bottling operations, all other operations must take place in the area of origin and the raw materials must be obtained from grapes produced and vinified in the same area;
• grappas made from raw materials from the production of DOCG, DOC, IGT wines;
• GRAPPAS WITH GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONfor which no other designation with regional reference is permitted, except in cases where grappa is obtained from raw materials from regional DOCG, DOC, IGT wines;
• SINGLE-VARIETAL GRAPPASobtained from marc of at least 85 % of a single variety of Vitis vinifera distilled in purity.

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