Capovilla, Ribolla Gravner 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 the well 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.

Many in Italy believe Capovilla to be the single best producer of Grappa in the country and we very much agree. Since 1986, the estate has been based in the beautiful old cellars of Villa Dolfin Boldù in Rosa', near Bassano del Grappa, close to Vicenza.

Owner Vittorio Capovilla has chosen to distil his Grappa using small stills that he has especially built for him by a German artisan. He has also chosen to use an artisanal distillation method for his products, via the very high quality bain-marie method, which employs a discontinuous distilling cycle. This means that at the end of every boiling cycle of the marc or pomace, the cycle must be interrupted and the pot emptied and refilled with other new marc or pomace. The discontinuous cycle still can be of three types (direct fire, bain marie and flowing steam) depending on the manner by which the pomace or marc is warmed up, and the bain marie method, though slow and labour-intensive, is particulary famous for extracting aromas and flavours that are highly refined and intense.