The history of the Nardini distillery
THE FIRST DISTILLERY IN ITALY
Let yourself be surprised by the bicentennial history of a family whose name, through centuries and generations, has become synonymous with a product, an icon of an entire nation.
1739BIRTH OF BORTOLO NARDINIThe son of Bortolo Nardini and Maria Maddalena Giacomuzzi, Bortolo Nardini was born on 25th May 1739 in Segonzano (Tn) in the Cembra Valley. In a town with an ancient oenological tradition, it was a widespread practice to distil marc as a source of income and livelihood. At the time, distillers went from house to house, with a mobile still, to distil the marc from the production of wine on behalf of third parties, and Bortolo Nardini took up this 'trade' and travelled as far as Bassano del Grappa.
1779THE FIRST GRAPPA D'ITALIANWhen he travelled as far as Bassano del Grappa, Bortolo Nardini had an accident that forced him to stay in the town. During his convalescence, he was able to get to know Bassano better and understand its strategic importance as a commercial crossroads between the Valsugana and Venice. With a clear vision and the tenacious will to turn it into reality, he bought the Osteria al Ponte, today "Grapperia Nardini", to produce grappa with a permanent still and resell it. For the first time it was no longer the distiller, with his mobile still, who went to the farmers to distil, but the farmers themselves who gave him the marc to produce grappa. Bortolo called his grappa "Aquavite di vinaccia", in the Latin way without the "c", playing on the etymology that sometimes calls it "aqua di vita" (water of life) and sometimes "aqua della vite" (water of the vine). Italy's first grappa, Grappa Nardini, is born.
Between the end of the eighteenth century and the early nineteenth century, the distillation of Nardini Grappa took place in traditional stills over direct fire, and the distillate was stored in large copper jars, which are still on display at Grapperia al Ponte. But it was in 1860 that the family introduced a great innovation in the grappa distillation process: the steam still. The adoption of steam made it possible to considerably improve the quality of grappa compared to stills with direct fire, making it possible to preserve the quality of the marc without burning it. Today it is one of the most widely used methods in the entire production of grappa.
1910LA GRAPPA RISERVALThe new generation of Nardini: Bortolo, Orazio, Mario, brings an important innovation: the grappa riserva,". Aged in oak barrels in the manner of cognac". Grappa Nardini Riserva is born.
1919 THE DOUBLE RECTIFICATIONIn the early post-war period, the Nardini family introduces another innovation in the distillation process, the double rectification technique, an operation that ensures a higher purity of the product because it allows to work with more precision on the selection of alcohols, improving the quality of the final result.
1963 THE VACUUM STEAM DISTILLATIONIn 1963, the Nardini Family introduces the vacuum steam distillation, an innovation aimed at the continuous search for qualitative perfection of its products. This new technique allows the volatilisation of the alcohols by subjecting the marc to lower temperatures, thus allowing the organoleptic characteristics of the raw material to remain unaltered and characterising Nardini Grappa with its unmistakable floral bouquet.
2006 GRAPPA IN MIXINGSince the early 2000s, Nardini, guided by its pioneering spirit, has been collaborating with the best international bartenders to promote the culture of grappa in mixing. A new way of consuming the national distillate, celebrated in 2006 with the first publication of a book containing over 40 grappa-based cocktail recipes: "The Grappa Handbook", written by Marcin Miller.