Grappa from Trentino, from water-clear to amber
At "nur Gutes," the Grappa selection ranges from young pomace brandy to Grappa Riserva, single-varietal or cuvée, matured in oak, port wine casks, using the Solera method, or in clay amphorae. Five miniatures in a tasting set display three levels of maturation side by side.
Grappa is Italy's protected pomace brandy, distilled from the fermented pomace of grapes grown and vinified in Italy. The pomace itself goes into the still for this purpose, and such a spirit can only carry the name if it is at least 37.5% vol.
From pomace to Grappa, a spirit with a protected name
When the presses in the wineries fall silent in autumn, what remains of the grapes is the pomace—a tightly pressed cake of skins and seeds that still carries the scent of the harvest. Throughout the European Union, this can be turned into a pomace brandy; in France, it is called Marc. However, Italy has protected the name "Grappa" as a geographical indication, which is now enshrined in European spirits law, and only Italian-speaking Switzerland uses it alongside Italy.
Part of the Italian designation is that the distillation must also take place where the grapes originate, in facilities on Italian soil. It gets a step more precise in Trentino, which has its own designation: "Grappa trentina" or "Grappa del Trentino." This requires grapes from the province of Trento, which must also have been vinified there, and both distillation and bottling must occur within the province. For sale, such a Grappa must be between 40% vol and 60% vol.
The region's protection institute, the Istituto Tutela Grappa del Trentino, has its own mark for this. The "Tridente," a trident, is awarded only to Grappa made from Trentino pomace. Beforehand, a laboratory at the Fondazione Mach in San Michele all'Adige analyzes the spirit, and a commission from the Trento Chamber of Commerce tastes it.
Two Italian terms sound almost identical yet mean two different types of Grappa. "Aromatica" is the name for a Grappa made from aromatic grape varieties such as Muscat, Gewürztraminer, or Malvasia, whose fragrance survives the journey through the still. In contrast, "Aromatizzata" refers to a Grappa to which herbs or fruits have been added after distillation. The "Espressioni Aromatica" on this shelf belongs to the former type, as it is distilled from aromatic pomace.
From fresh pomace brandy to a Riserva with five years of Solera
The most frequently ordered item from us is the Diciotto Lune, a Grappa Stravecchia, for which five grape varieties provide their pomace, both red and white. It is intended as a Grappa for meditation, for the glass over which one falls silent. Right next to it stand two relatives that are familiar with its wood.
The "Morbida barrique," made from Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, matures in its emptied barrels, and this soft Grappa is available in 200, 500, and 700 ml bottles. The "Botte Porto" is Diciotto Lune that, after its time in its original wood, is moved into casks from Portugal. Port wine was stored in them beforehand, and as a Riserva from the port wine cask, it brings more fruit with it, available in 500 or 700 ml bottles.
Younger than these three is the "Trentina Tradizionale" made from Teroldego, Marzemino, and Merlot, for this young Grappa has never seen a barrel. With it, you taste the pomace itself, dry and direct. Next to it, it later becomes clear what wood and time change in the other bottles.
The three Giare, named after Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Amarone, lie in oak for at least 36 months. After the Diciotto Lune, the Amarone is the most ordered of all the bottles.
Maturing even longer are the two Grappa Riserva from the "Espressioni" line, whose pomace is blended before the barrel. The "Aromatica" shimmers a light golden yellow after four years of maturation and drinks velvety. The Riserva using the Solera method, in which batches of different vintages are brought together, originates from red pomace, and it is the darker of the two—amber-colored and round.
Those who wish to get to know the shelf on a small scale will find the Tradizionale, the Morbida, the Anfora, and the Diciotto Lune as miniatures in the tasting set, along with a fifth little bottle, the Corretto.
Young or matured, single-varietal or cuvée, and finally the wood
Grappa reveals its maturity in its name, and so the selection at "nur Gutes" begins with the question of whether it should arrive in the glass young or matured. "Giovane" is the commercial term for young, and such a spirit rests in steel or glass until bottling. According to Italian law, it is only called "Grappa invecchiata" after 12 months in wood, and "Grappa Riserva" or "Stravecchia" after 18 months—both words mean the same level.
Secondly, the grape counts, and a Grappa may be called "monovitigno" (single-varietal) if one variety accounts for at least 85 percent of the pomace by weight. Everything made from multiple varieties is considered a cuvée, including the "Grappa Amarone," which bears the name of a wine and is distilled from Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara.
Finally, the wood decides, and since 2016, only that which is recognized as matured and has spent at least half of its minimum maturation period in 225-liter oak barrels may be called "Grappa barrique" or "barricata." Those looking for maturation entirely without wood will end up with clay.
With the clear bottles on the shelf, the first question can already be read from the color. As a young Grappa, the Tradizionale remains colorless, and the Anfora also comes out colorless, even though it has spent 10 months in clay amphorae, because clay does not impart color. This cuvée of six grape varieties bears the addition "affinata" (refined), a word to which the law attaches no minimum time.
Wood, on the other hand, imparts color, and in the barrel, a Grappa also loses the edges it had when freshly distilled. The Diciotto Lune meets the minimum maturity of a "Stravecchia" to the very month, while the Giare and the Espressioni far exceed it.
For the second question, it is worth looking at the three Giare, which stand side by side on the shelf in three colors. The Grappa from Gewürztraminer is pale straw-yellow, single-varietal, and distilled from an aromatic grape.
In contrast, the single-varietal Grappa from Chardonnay glows deep amber to copper; it is delicate in fragrance and, at 45% vol, the strongest of the three. Lying in between, with its amber-orange hue, is the Grappa from Amarone pomace, whose fragrance is broadly diversified.
The "Morbida" is considered a mild Grappa; its name means "soft" in Italian, and its producer attributes the highest degree of softness to it. It thus forms the counterpart on the shelf to the young Tradizionale.
The water bath comes from Trentino, the selection from the cellar
We selected all the bottles on this page at the Marzadro family estate in Nogaredo, whose history we tell in detail at the distillery in Trentino. They are created there under one roof, from the young Grappa to the years of maturation in wood. For the Amarone, the pomace is sourced from Valpolicella, the home of this wine.
The water bath method used for distillation there traces back to a Trentino native. Tullio Zadra developed the process in the fifties and sixties. To this day, the pistons work individually, and between two distillations, the boiler is emptied and refilled with pomace.
In the boiler, the pomace is brought to 88°C, a temperature at which alcohol and aromatic substances evaporate gradually. A computer keeps them constant, and in the cooled coil, the vapor becomes liquid again, thus turning into Grappa. New things are created there, too, and so the house developed the clay amphorae for the "Anfora" together with technicians.
The master distiller is Andrea Marzadro, and he subsequently accompanies the Grappa through its maturation until the wood and the spirit are in harmony. Even with the Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer of the Giare line, he monitors how the blend develops, because even a single-varietal Grappa is created from several barrels.
Once a year, he walks through the maturation cellar, pulls out what he feels has succeeded best, and bottles it as "Espressioni," numbered and limited to 2,500 bottles. The Aromatica and the Solera on this page come from such annual selections.
Alessandro Marzadro, who has presided over the Trentino protection institute since 2023 and was unanimously confirmed in office in April 2026 for the years until 2029, comes from the same family.
With Grappa, the espresso becomes a Caffè corretto
The dessert has been eaten, the espresso is still steaming, and in Italy, as custom dictates, it now gets its Grappa. "Caffè corretto" means "corrected coffee," and as the conversations grow quieter, a spoon clinks somewhere.
It is for this very moment that the Corretto from the tasting set is intended. It is created when roasted coffee beans are steeped in Diciotto Lune, and it is as dark as the espresso to which it belongs. At 35% vol, it is a coffee liqueur based on Grappa, as it would need more alcohol to carry the name "Grappa."
The remaining four little bottles form a small ladder of maturation that you can climb at your leisure. If you place the Tradizionale, the Anfora, and the Diciotto Lune next to each other, you taste one after another what becomes of pomace without a barrel, in clay, and in wood. The Morbida joins them as the fourth and shows what a used barrel contributes.
Whether you drink Grappa cold or warm depends on its maturity. Serve a matured Grappa at room temperature, a young or aromatic one slightly cooler. A stemmed glass gives the fragrance room to breathe.
The Gewürztraminer is perfect for Sunday afternoon fruit cake, and it pairs just as well with a bowl of nuts, while the "Botte Porto" prefers dried fruit. Poured next to the Diciotto Lune, it also reveals what a second barrel does to the same spirit.
The Diciotto Lune itself is drunk neat after a meal, without accompaniment and without haste.
Distilled in autumn, poured and gifted in winter
The distillation season in Nogaredo begins with the harvest, and distillation takes place there from September to December, as long as fresh pomace arrives. The months that follow belong to pouring, when there is frost on the roofs outside and someone lights the second candle inside. Then the matured bottles come out of the cabinet, and the young ones are allowed to wait until summer.
For a housewarming, a thank-you, or an invitation to friends, the 5 cl miniature of the Diciotto Lune is sufficient. For a longer visit, it is also available as a 200 ml bottle. In the Giare gift set, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, and Amarone are placed next to each other, 20 cl each, and those who wish to compare have all three colors of the Giare together.
As a gift, the Diciotto Lune also comes with two glasses in a 500 ml bottle. For special occasions, there are the Aromatica and the Solera from the Espressioni line.
Thus, what the press leaves behind after the harvest becomes the final touch on the table after a feast.
