Antica Cuvée Riserva 5 years barrique Nonino with case

An emblem of tradition, quality and prestige, this is one of the most famous Italian distilleries in the world. The 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 over 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 spirit, from a traditional everyday product to a luxury good for important occasions. The 1960s saw the birth of the first vintage labels, with the indication of the year of the pomace, and ten years later, Benito and Giannola Nonino created grappas from single grape varieties, valorising the ancient native vines of the territory and revolutionising the way of conceiving the Italian distillate par excellence. The New York Times summed up the great merit of this family of distillers as follows: 'For decades, Grappa was little more than a pocket-sized form of warming for the peasantry of 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 Labour), is now carried on by their three daughters Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta, who have remained faithful to the criteria of absolute quality and the valorisation of the best practices of the farming civilisation. The raw materials used are fresh, moist, de-stemmed pomace, fermented for a short time in temperature-controlled steel vats. The distillation process is carried out using artisanal methods with discontinuous stills heated with 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 traditionalist choice of the family, the refusal to use demethylisation columns and continuous industrial plants allows a production of absolute quality without compromise. In order to do this, the Nonino family now owns 5 artisanal distilleries with a total of 73 stills that are in operation 24 hours a day during the harvest period. Only barriques and small barrels are used to age the distillate, capable of conferring a slow and constant natural enrichment, without the addition of other additives. Grappa Nonino is today known throughout the world as the Italian excellence of distillation. All labels are accompanied by detailed information on raw materials, production method and ageing, if any. Sensory richness, impeccable elegance and stylistic rigour 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.