Grappa di Ribolla Gravner, Capovilla

Vittorio Capovilla or “Il Capo” as they call him, is unquestionably one of the greatest distillers in Europe, and certainly unsurpassed in Italy. He is responsible for producing what are considered to be some of the best, if not the best Grappas and fruit distillates available on the market. At Capovilla they use the particularly delicate Bain-Marie method to carefully extract flavour from the grape pomace which results in a subtle, pure and delicious Grappa.

The sourcing of the musts to make these grappe is as important as the distillation itself. Vittorio seeks out the must according to the quality of the grapes each year from a vast array of producers. This particular Grappa is made from the pomace of world renowned Josko Gravner’s Ribolla Gialla. The pomace was left to ferment and macerate with the wine after the pressing for 5-6 months underground in Anforas.

The must is distilled using a baine-marie method in custom made small copper stills, this distils the grappa at a low temperature, very slowly. Though this method is time consuming it extracts the maximum amount of flavours and aromas from the must. The first part of the distillation contains toxic methyl alcohol and the last part of the distillation contains undesirable elements such as seed oils and other unpleasantries. These parts are therefore discarded and what is left is the clean and pure heart of the grappa. The grappa is left to age in stainless steel for a few years before being cut with fresh spring water which reduces the alcohol substantially.

Each bottle is unique, the label handwritten and hand sealed using wax.