L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano FRANCESCA BEZZONE W hen I was younger, I would have considered grappa an "old person" drink: fiery, crystal clear, strong, but certainly not trendy. Grappa was the comfort drink of elderly men sitting around a table reminiscing about their youth, something only navigated, well-lived individuals could appreciate. Often associated exclusively to the dopey hours following a hearty evening meal, grappa is also a famed addition to morning coffees for the creation of that ubiquitous yet mysterious Italian classic that "caffè corretto" is. Even its association with cof- fee, however, failed to make it alluring to the younger genera- tions, as it still missed that "rest- less rebel" allure other, just as strong, spirits had. But we all know that youth lacks wisdom and the beauties of grappa and of its immense variety were very much lost to my naive, twenty something self. A bunch of years and a good few glasses later I, too, reconsid- ered the value and allure of grap- pa, a complex spirit declined in numerous varieties, a perfect end- ing to any meal that, today, has been gaining traction among the international crowd a much as it had in Italy. A true example of that quin- tessentially agricultural frame of mind where nothing gets wasted, grappa has an interesting history and an even more interesting set of flavors and types, all to be tried and explored. A bit of history I've said it above: grappa is a typical example of how nothing gets wasted in the Italian country- side. Its main ingredient is "pomace" which is nothing more than the by product of winemak- ing procedures. Its name comes, very likely, from the north eastern dialects word "graspo," which means - you guessed it - vine shoot. Historians tell us it has been around since the Middle Ages, fire in a liquid form made to help farmers go through those implacable northern Italian win- ters of yore. For centuries, grappa remained just that: a somewhat rough spirit, similar to those pro- duced from grains in the American Mid-West. And until the 1960s, grappa kept its century long association with the humbler and hardworking side of Italian society: in the end, my very own, initial impression of grappa wasn't that far from reality. Giannola Nonino and the birth of deluxe grappa Things were to change dra- matically in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when grappa pioneer Giannola Nonino entered the scene. Mind, Giannola was not new to the world of grappa, her family had been producing it in their distillery of Percoto since 1897. But her attitude towards the drink was all new. Giannola wanted to turn grap- pa into an exclusive drink, she dreamt of giving it the same pres- tige of France's own "eau de vie;" the first step towards it was to dis- till grappa from a single type of grape, instead of using a mixture of many, as it had been done up to then. Her choice translated in a much smoother taste and opened up to several avenues of flavor, one for each type of grape you could think of. The first batch of her grappa came out in 1973 and didn't sell well. Yet, Giannola didn't give up: she turned herself into her own product's PR, bringing bot- tles of her grappa to conventions, diplomatic gatherings, important dinners. She served it up to guests, she described how it was made and, slowly but steadily, she created a following for the drink. It was the birth of yet another Italian culinary icon. Making grappa "Pomace" needs to be moist when placed into containers to ferment. Once fermented, it has to be heated gently, so waterbathing or steaming are often preferred methods. At this stage, the nose becomes protagonist. Yes, the nose of the distiller, who has the duty to understand, through scent, when the "head" and the "heart" of the drink are ready to be sepa- rated. How could such a complex procedure, calling for such fine, unique skills, be associated with anything "rough" lies outside my own comprehension: I have the impression grappa always hid its true, elegant nature behind a screen of unrefined grittiness, only to disclose its real nature when we all least expected it. One grappa, so many vari- eties! Giannola's first single grape batch came from Picolit grape. Today, at least a dozen different grape varieties are used to pro- duce "grappa monovitigno," that is, made using only one type of grape. Of course, the better the grape, the better the grappa. Moscato and Malvasia are popu- lar to make very aromatic stills, while extra essences or even fruit are often added at the end of pro- duction to create flavored vari- eties: blueberries, pears, peaches but also licorice, thyme, sage and mint, are all used. Of course, grappa can be more or less aged: we have grappa gio- vane, when it is bottled straight after production. Grappa affinata, when it rests for at least 12 months in wood containers. Grappa invecchiata (or vecchia), when it is aged between 12 and 18 months in wood containers and, finally, grappa stravecchia (or riserva) when the aging process lasted for more than 18 months. How to drink it To each grappa, its own method: young grappa is best served chilled, while aged grappa should be served at room temper- ature. Follow some tricks to recog- nize good quality grappa: it should always be clear, even though some aged varieties can get a pleasant, mild golden tone; its bottle should always be made of clear glass and don't be too tied to a specific geographic loca- tion, as quality grappa is made a bit everywhere in Italy today. Personal piece of advice: if you know someone making their own grappa, give it go. There is nothing as wholesome as enjoy- ing a tiny glass of homemade grappa sitting beside a good friend. The world discovers an Italian all-time classic, Grappa It is the nose of the distiller, by identifying and decoding scents, that makes it possible to distill the perfect grappa Grappa is made from all that's left after winemaking "Pomace" is the name given to the organic based used to distill grappa Grappa has usually a clear color, although a golden hue is also common for cer- tain varieties NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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