Nonino

Grappa is not worth less than cognac or brandy and certainly not at all "farmer's drink" - The Nonino family has proved this very successfully. For around 120 years, she has been dedicated to the art of distilling traditional spirits in Friuli. Founded by Orazio Nonino, the company only fills uncompromising quality grappas and distillates distilled from fresh raw materials according to traditional methods in its own discontinuous steam distilling flasks in Ronchi di Percoto, without any aromatic or caramel additives.

Benito and Giannola Nonino are regarded as pioneers of high-quality grappa. From the sixties onwards, the couple founded the enormous success of the distillery by introducing new production methods. In 1973 they launched the Monovitigno Picolit, the first distilled grape marc spirit from a single and rare noble grape variety. The family thus revolutionised the presentation of Grappa in Italy and worldwide. Another milestone: In 1984 Nonino distilled whole grapes instead of marc for the first time and thus created the grape brandy.

For the production, the Nonino family uses fresh must-rich press residues of mostly very old grape varieties, which grow in their own vineyards and were partly already threatened with extinction. The range includes eight Monovitigno grappas alone, but the white Picolit grape is the "queen". The five distilleries of the Nonino distillery are each equipped with twelve discontinuous steam pistons. The grappa, which ages both in stainless steel containers and in more than 1,800 small oak, former sherry and other wooden barrels, is filled into high-quality glass containers after long natural maturation without the addition of colouring agents and then lovingly packaged. Nonino controls every step of the production process - from the vine to distribution.

Four women head the northern Italian family business: Giannola Nonino and her daughters Elisabetta, Cristina and Antonella. The three sisters grew up between grapes, distilling flasks and barriques, because their mother took them everywhere: to winegrowers, customers and in the production rooms marked by the overwhelming smell of the marc.

Nonino was founded in 2003 by the President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi "as the true ambassadors for Italian grappa worldwide." with the Premio Leonardo Qualità Italia. One year earlier, the distillery had already been awarded a contract by the Italian sommelier association of the "Oscar del Vino" has been awarded. Still today, the Picolit of Nonino is the only grappa among the 16 best distillates in the world. "Hall of Fame" of the Spirit Journal.

In January 2020 Nonino was honored with the 20th Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards. The distillery from Percoto was the first Italian distillery ever and the only grappa producer to be awarded the "Spirit Brand / Distiller of the Year 2019".

Kara Newman, the distillate expert of the US magazine Wine Enthusiast explained the choice as follows: "Even though the Nonino distillery was founded in 1897, its history actually only begins in the 1970s when Benito Nonino and his wife Giannola start producing high-quality single-variety Monovitigno Grappas. It was above all Giannola who helped to change the brittle and negative image of grappa. As she herself affirms, she was concerned with transforming grappa from Cinderella to Queen [...] with energy, courage and a revolutionary vision. She demonstrated her ability to redesign a traditional distillate for modern times [...] this is simply the best of Made in Italy. And the company's constant quest for excellence is characterised by innovation, while respecting the culture and identity of the territory. SUPERIORE.DE