Looking for malternatives, part 4: The Italian job

Ok, time to put this series of ‘looking over the whisky wall’ to rest. And I’m ending it by taking a closer look at a drink that arguably has similar grass roots as whisky, albeit with its very own origin story and evolution throughout time. Far less so than cognac or whisky  - both of them drinks that were ‘adopted’ by the high society,  the Italian drink that is grappa remained, for a very long time, a working man’s drink. Originally produced in the more northern regions of Italy (Piemonte, Friuli, Veneto – where the town of Bassano del Grappa is located to which grappa owes its name,…) since the middle ages, grappa was (and still is) a ‘leftover product’. Wine producers tended to discard the remains of grapes after the fermentation process, much to the delight of labourers, who put them to good use by distilling them. Which essentially means grappa is a grape based spirit, using anything from the grapes bar the actual grape juice. Crushed peels, seeds, even small bits of the branches: as long as it contains something even remotely resembling starch or sugar, it ended up in grappa. For centuries,  it tended to be consumed unaged, as a working class drink to help keep warm during cold winter months. The fact that it was first and foremost a ‘common people’s drink’  explains why it never really caught on, or was adopted by those of a higher social status or with a higher disposable income, as they preferred more ‘refined’ stuff like cognac/brandy,  or, indeed, whisky. And there’s indeed something to be said about grappa suffering from a bit a doubtful reputation in terms of quality. It was haphazardly regulated and controlled (if regulated at all), meaning  that for a very long time basically ‘anything goes’ used to be the way of doing things. Luckily, this changed in the past 4 or 5 decades.

Another significant difference with other brandy the likes of cognac or Armagnac is that, originally, grappa tended to be made from blue grapes rather than white ones. The reason is obvious: grape juice is transparent, and in order to make red wine, you need the peels of the grapes to be mixed in with the actual juice for the fermentation process, or you’d end up with white wine as well. As a consequence, grappa tended to rely on red wine grapes, as the peels and the lees that were left after the fermentation process already contained alcohol, making it easier to distil. These days both white and blue grapes are used for making grappa, although the varieties that CAN be used are restricted and defined by law and regulation. Indeed, grappa is going places: it is now a protected name – it can only be produced under the name ‘grappa’ if it’s made in Italy or the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.  Furthermore, it has to be distilled from the seeds and peels or other ‘remains’ of the grapes (rather than the actual grapes) still and bottled at a minimum of 37.5% ABV (there’s not a legislated maximum ABV, but by and large grappa tends to be offered anywhere between 40% and 60% ABV). Similar to cognac, it’s not really common to see actual age statements on labels, although a classification system is used.

Grappa giovane is young, unaged grappa – usually stored in a fridge to be drunk as a neutral spirit drink.

Grappa affinata: grappa aged in oak casks for up to 12 months

Grappa invecchiata or ‘vechia’: grappa aged for more than 12 months

Grappa riserva invecchiata: aged for at least 18 months (this can go up all the way to 25, 30, 50... year old grappa ).

Apart from these age indications, there’s also a classification system to  help clarify the production process, with either just the 1 grape variety (monovitigno), mixed grapes but from the same grape ‘family’ (polivitigno) or just a mixture of grape varieties (grappa mista).

So I already hinted at the fact that grappa has upped the bar in terms of quality and standards, and a lot of credit is due to one producer who really made it a goal to deliver  with high standard, top quality grappa.

Nonino Grappa Invecchiata Io Chardonnay , Aged 12 months in barriques. Natural colour, 41% ABV, app. €35 - €40

When talking grappa, the Nonino family has more or less become synonymous with this distilled drink. The company has been in operation since the late 19th century, making spirits and liqueurs. It was in the 1970’s,  under the management of Benito and Giannola,  the 5th generation Noninos, that they embarked on a journey to transform grappa from an ‘ugly duckling’ into a beautiful swan. They went to great lengths to tackle the wishy washy reputation it once suffered from, by using quality products, from grapes to stills to casks, with knowledge and methodically applied skill and craft in their methods. They tend to focus on the monovtigno approach (using just a single grape variety for a specific grappa – in this case chardonnay grapes), using steam heated pot stills (also something not adopted throughout the industry as quite a few mass produced grappa will be made using column stills) after a period of fermentation using stainless steel tanks.

Their efforts to make grappa a quality spirit rather than it being cheap booze, soon took root and many other producers followed suit: Bepi Tosolini, Berta, Jacopo Poli, Nardini,… there’s no shortage of producers releasing good quality grappa these days.

Nose

Sweetness coming from fermented and overripe grapes, reminding me of ‘must’ (the squished and crushed yet not fermented fruit juice). So obviously grape-like, but also sweet cereals, sugar and tropical fruitiness from dragon fruit and unripe kiwi. Vanilla, candy floss, and floral (geraniums) notes.

Palate

The sweetness from the nose transform on to the palate. Again that fermented grape note, must, cereals and tropical white fruit, sitting on a dry, ever so slightly woody mouthfeel. Youthful, playful even, but also well matured, flavourful and balanced.

Finish

That woody note lingers on for quite a bit.

Final thoughts

This is driven by sweet notes of all sorts, but all very well integrated and luckily never ever things turn sickly sweet, as it comes with a bit of funky and woody twist. A very interesting and engaging drink. Arguably this is the least reminiscent of whisky of  all the malternatives I tried throughout the course of this series, and therefore also the ‘easiest’ to analyse or assess without being drawn to making the obvious comparison. What this offers, is a flavourful and very enjoyable grape distillate and if you feel as if cognac can be a bit ‘heavy’ or too wine driven I can only recommend branching out to grappa. Particularly this one offers a layered, well balance and also somewhat ‘playful’ approach to things. Easy sipping and plenty of character: very nice stuff indeed. 84/100

Obviously these malternatives are only the tip of the iceberg – there’s still mezcal/tequila, calvados, gin, Armagnac, brandy, and at least half a dozen more to cover. And what about rye, bourbon or rice whiskies? Those might have to wait until I once again find myself stuck with whisky fatigue… As for now, I’ll leave it at this. Believe it or not, this was review 196. As I work my way towards 200 reviews, and with 5 years of blogging coming up, I feel I’ll need to celebrate the moment and go for some drams suitable for the occasion. But first: a wee summer break. See you soon!