The passion for Grappa was born in my father’s little vineyard.
The marc, driven away into the fields after being squeezed, continued to axhale interesting scents and even on earth i was able to trace back to the vine of origin.
I began to study the history of distillation, the plant evolution, the various stills but I was always convinced that direct fire was the best way to enhance prefume of the materials.
It is not easy to distil over direct heat, you need a particular nose, you have to focus on the first exhalation to see if the cook is “game” well.
It takes little to burn everything and ruin the still. There are no instruments that control the quality of the border, the thermometer is only a help for the separation of the head and warns, just before the drip, which is time to focus more.
The alchemical aspect of the process is as direct as the fire lapping the boiler, the transformation of the material is total, the double passage of state is directly perceived.
The dosage of fire must be done with skill: high at the beginning, slightly lower at the first fumes, a little higher to remove the head, low for “caress” and extract the heart, turned off by the tailI leave in the boiler.
But it’s after the distillation that the Grappa is made. Borlande, is the result of distillation, always has its own character that trough flavors and aromas, tells the grape, the agricultural process, field work, the phenomena of the past season.
It is here that the master distiller decides whether and how to mix the Borlande of the various vines, identifies the best final gradation to harmonize aroma and body, cuts and if deemed appropriate, add that little sugar wich serves to make the tasting softer.
