Bitter Quintessentia di Erbe Nonino with case

An emblem of tradition, quality and prestige, this is one of the most celebrated Italian distilleries in the world. Founder of the winery was Orazio Nonino in 1897, when, after years of itinerant activity with a still mounted on wheels, he established his headquarters in Percoto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, not far from Udine. For more than 120 years, the business has remained in the hands of the Nonino family, which, in its long history, has succeeded with increasing success in accomplishing an important mission: to take Italian grappa to the world, transforming it from a rustic, peasant distillate to a noble and prestigious brandy, from a traditional everyday product to a luxury good for important occasions. Starting in the 1960s, the first vintage labels were born, with the indication of the vintage of the pomace, and ten years later, Benito and Giannola Nonino created grappas from single grape varieties, enhancing the ancient native vines of the territory and revolutionizing the way of conceiving the Italian distillate par excellence. The New York Times summed up the great merit of this family of distillers this way, "For decades, grappa was little more than a pocket form of warming for the peasant farmer in northern Italy. But all this was before the Noninos of Percoto rose to prominence." The work of Benito and Giannola, who was awarded the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor), is carried on today by their three daughters Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta, who have remained faithful to the criteria of absolute quality and enhancement of the best practices of the peasantry. The raw materials used are very fresh moist and destemmed pomace, placed to ferment for a short time in temperature-controlled steel vats. The distillation process is carried out using artisanal methods with discontinuous stills heated by steam. These operations are carried out under the supervision of the master distiller, who checks the quality of the raw materials and determines the cutting of the heads and tails using his experience and sensory involvement. The family's traditionalist choice, the refusal to use demethylization columns and continuous industrial plants allows production of absolute quality without compromise. To do this, the Nonino family now owns five artisanal distilleries with a total of 73 stills that run 24 hours a day during harvest time. Only barriques and small barrels are used for aging the distillate, capable of imparting a slow and constant natural enrichment, without the addition of other additives. Grappa Nonino is now known worldwide as the Italian excellence of distillation. All labels are accompanied by detailed information about the raw materials, production method and eventual aging. Sensory richness, impeccable elegance and stylistic rigor are the constants of this production that has become a model of inspiration for producers all over the world and an exciting certainty for grappa lovers.