In honor of our new release we dive into the history, flavors, and production of grappa.
Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. Yes, there are some less-than-enjoyable grappas out there – the same can be said of most any spirit. Certain brands of tequilas and rums bring back unpleasant memories of my youth and bear little resemblance to the fine spirits we enjoy today. Grappa has a rich history and passionate fans and great grappa deserves its place on the world stage.
What is Grappa?
Grappa is a byproduct of wine production and is produced from the leftover grape skins, seeds, and stems (collectively called pomace) after pressing. Pomace has flavors and alcohol similar to the wine. Following the tradition of stem to seed use of crops, farmers began distilling the pomace to extract the alcohol and flavor into a useful spirit rather than letting it go to waste.
Grappa is the Italian name for grape pomace brandy. Similar products are made throughout the world under various names, including marc, chacha, and orujo. Pomace brandy can even be made from other fruit types, such as apple pomace, but commercially available products are almost exclusively made from grape pomace.
In the US, brandy made from grape pomace can be called grappa, pomace brandy, or marc brandy, which is the French name. In Europe, grappa is a protected name reserved for products made to certain guidelines in Italy or the Italian region of Switzerland
Grappa is made from every type of grape. Both red wine and white wine pomace can be used to make grappa, but the techniques differ. During red wine production the wine ferments as a must with the pomace still in it. After the red wine is pressed the leftover fermented pomace is ready to be distilled. In white wine production we press the wine from the pomace before fermentation, so white wine pomace must be fermented before distillation.
Distillation of Grappa
While the basic principle of grappa distillation is the same as brandy distillation the process differs because grappa made by heating a sold mass of pomace. This introduces several challenges.
We need to efficiently transfer the heat without burning the pomace. At Ambix Spirits our Alamabic Charentais uses a gas burner as the heat source. If we put pomace into our alembic it would scorch. For this reason, we make our grappa using a small Bain Marie double boiler that gently heats the pomace to avoid scorching. Many higher volume grappa producers inject steam into the pomace to heat it. A unique and elegant approach can be found at Essential Spirits Alambic Distilleries where a percolator (seen on the right) allows for the direct heating of the liquid which circulates over the pomace in the same way a stovetop coffee percolator operates.
Another challenge of grappa distillation is loading and unloading the still. We can’t pump dry pomace around, so grappa making includes heavy lifting of steaming hot pomace. Essential Spirits has posted a series of videos showing how they load and unload their still which can give you a sense of the labor behind this unique spirit.
History of Grappa
Grappa’s name comes from the Latin grappolus which means a bunch of grapes.
Early distillation of brandy is well documented as it was performed in monasteries to produce medicine. The process of distillation was published in the Vatican Consila codex of 1276 and grew in popularity through Michele Savonarola’s publication, “De conficienda Aqua Vitae,“ in the early 15th century.
In contrast, the early history of pomace brandy is not well documented as it likely started as a means for peasants, who could not afford brandy or wine, to turn grape pomace, a low-value waste product, into a usable spirit.
Eventually in the 17th century Jesuits began researching the suitability of pomace as a cost effective source of alcohol. This led to distillation equipment optimized for pomace.
The oldest commercial grappa producer is the Nardini Inn and Distillery which opened in 1779 at the entrance to a wooden bridge leading into Bassano del Grappa. This highly successful distillery quickly grew by selling shots of grappa to locals and to traveling businessmen heading to and from Venice. Today Nardini makes a quarter of the world’s grappa.
Despite Nardini’s success, grappa was primarily a country drink with limited commercial availability. It wasn’t until 1973 that Nonino introduced an elevated grappa made with pomace from a single named varietal (specifically Picolit) rather than whatever was at hand. This evolution ushered in the modern grappa era of elevated spirits that reflect the terroir of a specific vineyard and varietal. We are proud to join that focus on elevation and terroir with our Sonoma Coast Zinfandel grappa.
References and Further Reading
Bottle of Italy: History of Grappa