Narrator:
GRAPPA IS AN ITALIAN BRANDY,
TRADITIONALLY
AN AFTER DINNER DRINK.
IT'S MADE FROM POMACE,
WHAT'S LEFT OF GRAPES
AFTER THEY'VE BEEN
PRESSED TO MAKE WINE.
DISTILLERIES FERMENT THE POMACE
TO CONVERT THE SUGARS
INTO ALCOHOL,
THEN DISTILL IT TO TRANSFORM
THE ALCOHOL AND OTHER COMPOUNDS
INTO GRAPPA.
TRADITIONAL GRAPPA IS COLORLESS.
IT CAN ALSO BE AGED
IN WOODEN BARRELS
TO PRODUCE DIFFERENT VARIETIES,
WITH A SPECIFIC COLOR,
TASTE, AND AROMA.
YOU CAN'T MAKE GRAPPA WITHOUT
SOMEONE FIRST MAKING WINE,
BECAUSE WINE-MAKING LEFTOVERS
ARE THE SOLE INGREDIENT.
IN ITALY, THE WINE HARVEST
BEGINS IN LATE SUMMER
OR EARLY FALL,
DEPENDING ON THE WEATHER
AND REGION OF THE COUNTRY.
THE HARVESTED GRAPES GO DIRECTLY
FROM THE VINEYARD TO THE WINERY.
THERE, THE FIRST MACHINE
PULLS THEM OFF THE STOCKS,
WHICH ARE LATER COMPOSTED
INTO FERTILIZER
FOR FARMS AND NURSERIES.
THE DESTOCKED GRAPES
ENTER A CYLINDRICAL PRESS.
THEY'RE CRUSHED
AGAINST THE WALLS
WITH AN AIRBAG-LIKE DEVICE
TO EXTRACT THE JUICE AND PULP
FOR MAKING WINE.
WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND IN THE PRESS,
ONCE THE JUICE
AND PULP DRAIN OUT,
ARE THE SKINS, SEEDS, SOME
RESIDUAL JUICE, AND PULP.
THIS IS CALLED POMACE.
THE WINERY
SELLS IT TO DISTILLERIES
THAT PRODUCE GRAPPA.
THIS SMALL ARTISANAL DISTILLERY
PRODUCES PREMIUM QUALITY GRAPPA
BY USING ONLY POMACE FROM GRAPES
PRESSED THAT VERY SAME DAY.
THE POMACE GOES INTO TEMPERATURE
CONTROLLED FERMENTATION TANKS
AS SOON AS IT ARRIVES.
LARGE INDUSTRIAL DISTILLERIES
OPERATE DIFFERENTLY,
TYPICALLY WAREHOUSING POMACE
PRIOR TO PROCESSING,
SOMETIMES FOR MONTHS.
THIS DELAY PRODUCES HIGH LEVELS
OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC METHANOL,
WHICH THE DISTILLERY
THEN HAS TO REMOVE
USING AN ADDITIONAL PROCEDURE.
THE DISTILLERS MONITOR PH
AND ALCOHOL LEVELS TO DETERMINE
WHEN THE CONVERSION OF SUGARS
TO ALCOHOL IS COMPLETE.
THE PROCESS
TAKES FROM THREE DAYS TO A WEEK,
DEPENDING ON THE VARIETY
OF GRAPE AND OTHER FACTORS,
SUCH AS THE OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE.
WHEN THE POMACE IS READY,
THEY TRANSFER IT
TO WOOD-CLAD COPPER STILLS.
THEY HEAT THE STILLS WITH STEAM,
BRINGING THE POMACE
TO THE BOILING POINT,
WHICH TRANSFORMS THE ALCOHOL
AND OTHER COMPOUNDS INTO STEAM.
THIS ALCOHOL STEAM INSIDE
THE STILL RISES TO THE TOP
AND EXITS THROUGH A SIDE HOLE.
IT TRAVELS THROUGH COPPER PIPES
AND OTHER EQUIPMENT,
ULTIMATELY
TO A CONDENSATION SYSTEM,
WHICH COOLS THE STEAM BACK
TO LIQUID.
THIS LIQUID IS GRAPPA.
AS IT EXITS DISTILLATION,
THE MASTER DISTILLER
METICULOUSLY
MONITORS THE TEMPERATURE
AND ALCOHOL LEVEL.
SHE DISCARDS THE INITIAL
AND FINAL FLOWS,
CAPTURING ONLY
THE PERFECTLY PURE MID FLOW,
REFERRED TO AS THE HEART
OF THE GRAPPA.
ITS ALCOHOL LEVEL AT THIS POINT
IS 70% TO 77%.
CERTAIN VARIETIES
NOW GO TO THE CELLAR,
INTO SMALL WOODEN BARRELS
TO AGE.
OVER TIME, BOTH THE GRAPPA
AND THE WOODEN BARRELS
EXCHANGE COMPOUNDS,
WHICH INFLUENCE TASTE, AROMA,
AND COLOR.
FOR EXAMPLE, A BARREL MADE
OF CHERRY WOOD WILL PRODUCE
DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS
THAN ONE MADE OF OAK.
THE DISTILLERIES' EXPERTS
ANALYZE AND TASTE SAMPLES
FOLLOWING DISTILLATION
AND THROUGHOUT THE AGING PERIOD.
DEPENDING ON THE VARIETY,
THIS CAN RANGE FROM JUST ONE
YEAR TO MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
WHETHER THE GRAPPA IS AGED
OR NOT, PRIOR TO BOTTLING,
THEY FILTER AND DILUTE IT
WITH THE MINERALIZED WATER.
THIS LOWERS THE ALCOHOL CONTENT
FROM AN AVERAGE OF 77%
AFTER DISTILLATION
TO THE TARGET LEVEL
OF 41% TO 50%.
THEY SEAL THE BOTTLES
WITH STOPPERS MADE OF
FOOD-SAFE SYNTHETIC MATERIALS
RATHER THAN TRADITIONAL CORKS.
NATURAL CORK CONTAINS
CERTAIN ORGANIC COMPOUNDS,
WHICH CAN ALTER THE FLAVOR,
AROMA, AND COLOR OF THE GRAPPA.
THEY SEAL THE STOPPER
WITH SHRINK WRAP PLASTIC.
AN UNBROKEN SEAL
ASSURES THE BUYER
THAT THE BOTTLE
HAS NOT BEEN PREVIOUSLY OPENED.
THEN THE BOTTLES
PASS THROUGH A LABELING STATION.
THE GRAPPA IS READY TO BE
POURED AS AN AFTER-DINNER DRINK
OR ENJOYED ON ITS OWN.
AS THE ITALIANS SAY, "SALUT!"
