Tasting Premium Italian Liqueur with Grappa Nonino
Amaro is having a major moment in the United States. In the past two years, we’ve seen an explosion of Amaro-focused bars and wine lists with dedicated Amaro sections cropping up.
Never had Amaro before? You probably have, if you’ve ever had a Martini (made with Vermouth) or a Negroni (made with Campari). It’s been a ubiquitous component of universal cocktail recipes for decades, but American consumers are finally starting to become curious about what Amaro exactly is and the different categories of Amaro.
Yesterday, we sat down at the Lamb’s Club in New York City with Elisabetta Nonino of Grappa Nonino, a premium Italian distillery and Wine Enthusiast’s “Best Distillery in the World” of 2019 for a tasting of Nonino’s spirits. Nonino Grappa is a family-owned distillation company based in Friuli in Northeast Italy. The company has been distilling spirits in the traditional method since 1897 and was the first distillery to make single-varietal Grappa. Today, it produces a range of Grappa, Amaro, liqueurs and distillates from grapes, honey and other fruits.
What’s the Difference Between Grappa and Amaro?
Grappa
Grappa is an alcoholic spirit made by distilling the grape seeds, skins and stems remaining from the winemaking process (the pomace). It usually contains 35% to 60% abv and, to be frank, has a potent alcoholic character to it.
Grappa is often seen served neat in a small one or two ounce glass as a digestif after dinner, mixed with espresso as caffè corretto (“coffee corrector”) or mixed into cocktails. You often hear many European countries calling their distilled spirits from grape pomace “Grappa,” but since 2008, Grappa has been protected under European Union law as a Protected Geographical Indication (P.G.I.) with certain standards of production, including the requirement that Grappa be Italian in origin.
Amaro
Amaro is an Italian herbal liqueur made by macerating and infusing botanicals (herbs, roots, flowers, spices, citrus peels and/or bark) into liquor or wine and then sweetening the spirit with a sugar or honey ingredient. The word “Amaro” means “bitter” in Italian, and Amari (plural for Amaro) often has both bitter and sweet flavors depending on the style that the producer is trying to achieve.
The concoction for the infusion is often the producer’s proprietary recipe, and as a result, the style of Amari can vary widely depending on the producer, with some being more sweet, bitter, fruity or citrus-forward than others. Higher quality Amari tend to be aged in wooden barrels for a period of time, which, similar to the ageing process for fortified wines like Madeira in Portugal and Rutherglen Muscat in Australia, increases the concentration and complexity of the resulting liqueur as the water evaporates over time and the flavors integrate.
Unlike Grappa, “Amaro” is not an EU-protected term, so producers outside of Italy can call their infused liqueur “Amaro.” As with Grappa, it is often enjoyed as a post-dinner digestif on its own or mixed into cocktails.
What makes Grappa Nonino special?
Commitment to Quality Through Attention to Detail
For years, Grappa was considered the “peasant’s drink” that was just the product of an indiscriminate mix of grape leftovers from the winemaking process. However, attention to detail at each step of the production process has been at the forefront of Nonino’s products. Nonino’s products are distilled and bottled at their own distillery, so they control each step of the production process. They control the entire production process, including bottling at the distillery, and use only natural ingredients. While many Amari are colored with caramel color to deepen the color of the spirit, they do not use any coloring agents, and all of their ingredients are natural in origin. While the minimum age for Amaro Riserva is 18 months, they age their Riservas for a minimum of 24 months. They keep detailed records of the type of distillation, the size and origin of wooden barrels used for ageing and the length of time in barrel. According to Elisabetta, transparency to the customer is one of the main priorities of Nonino, and they strive to build customer confidence in their products by featuring many of these production details prominently on their bottles and their website.
The Pioneer in Single-Varietal Grappa
Because Grappa is made from leftovers from the winemaking process, historically, Grappa was made by combining different varietals. In 1973, Grappa Nonino was the first distillery to make single-varietal Grappa, which was produced using the native Friuli grape, Picolit. Today, they make single-varietal Grappa from Muscat, Chardonnay and Merlot with the intention of retaining the varietal essence of the grape in the Grappa. According to Elisabetta, “A good distiller is able to transfer of the character of the raw material into the final product.” This year, Nonino is celebrating the 50th anniversary of this groundbreaking innovation, and for those who love all kinds of alcoholic beverages, this is a perfect vehicle to have both wine and spirits in one high-quality experience.
Pioneering New Products in Distillation
In addition to single-variety Grappa, in 1984, Nonino created a revolutionary new liqueur product, Grape Distillate ÙE®, which is the product of distilling the entire grape - the skin, pulp and grape juice - in one single operation. These wines are aged between five 5 to 27 years in barrels and bottled in hand-made, hand-blown glass decanters with 24 carat gold plated stoppers. Highly allocated, these spirits show how much Nonino has changed Grappa from its former reputation as the “peasants’ drink” into the realm of fine luxury spirits.
Woman-Led
In 1940, Elizabeth’s grandmother, Silvia Nonino became the first woman to produce Grappa in Italy and the first female manager of a distillery when her husband passed away. Today, in the extremely male-dominated industry of spirits and cocktails, the sisters, Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta, and Cristina’s daughter, Francesca are leading the modern era of the distillery into new products and markets.
The Tasting
At the tasting, we tasted the following three liqueurs:
L’Apertivo Nonino
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia Riserva
L’Apertivo Nonino:
My Tasting Notes: Floral with fresh citrus aromas of grapefruit, lemon oil and oranges.
Elisabetta’s recommendation was to enjoy the L’Apertivo the Italian way - on the rocks with tonic water, Prosecco or other sparkling wine and a garnish of lemon zest - and she said the L’Apertivo spritz would pair well with raw fish, fried vegetables or other light bites as a pre-dinner drink.
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia:
My Tasting Notes: Gingerbread, almonds, toasted walnuts, lemon peel, grapefruit, candied oranges and saffron.
To me, this was the classic expression of Amaro - full-bodied and bittersweet. While gorgeous on its own, the Amaro Nonino Quinessentia is apparently also a key ingredient in the famous cocktail, the Paper Plane. In 2008, Sam Ross, the co-owner of Attaboy in New York City, #22 of the World’s 50 Best Bars, created the cocktail with Amaro Nonino specifically in mind. Equal parts Amaro Nonino, Bourbon, Aperol and fresh lemon juice, according to Elisabetta, the Paper Plane is the perfect marriage of American and Italian spirits cultures.
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia Riserva:
My Tasting Notes: Coffee grinds, dark caramel, smoke, bitter root vegetables, saffron, Shitake mushroom.
The Riserva is made with the same infusion recipe as the regular Quinessentia, but the Riserva is aged 24 months in wooden barrels instead of 12 months, and the difference between the two Amari in terms of complexity and flavor profile was stark. The Riserva was unlike any other Amaro I have had so far, and it was evident that the extra ageing period in the Riserva caused the aromas and flavors to become much more concentrated and focused. For me, the Riserva had this extraordinary “rancio” character reminiscent of Madeira but without the levels of sugar found in most Madeiras. “Rancio” is a term often associated with fortified wines that have been aged in wooden vessels, and, according to WSET, rancio aromas typically include leather, wood varnish and strong coffee, which we found in this Riserva. I found this bittersweet Riserva to be a perfect alternative to Madeira when I’m in the mood for those smoky, dark coffee notes but don’t want to be drinking a sweet fortified wine.
Are you a fan of Amaro?
What are your favorite Amaro drinks? Comment below!
