Editing Grappa (section)

==History==
[[File:Alambicco anni60.png|thumb|Retort for continuous steam distillation dating from around 1960]]
[[Distillation]] is an ancient practice that can be traced back to the 1st century AD.<ref name="Forbes1970">{{Cite book|last=Forbes|first=Robert James|title=A short history of the art of distillation: from the beginnings up to the death of Cellier Blumenthal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XeqWOkKYn28C|access-date=29 June 2010|year=1970|publisher=BRILL|pages=57, 89|isbn=978-90-04-00617-1}}</ref> The [[History of ethanol|distillation of alcohol]] may have been carried out reliably by [[Al-Kindi|al-Kindī]] ({{circa|801–873}} CE), [[Al-Farabi|al-Fārābī]] ({{circa|872–950}}), and [[Al-Zahrawi|al-Zahrāwī]] (Latin: Abulcasis, 936–1013),<ref>{{cite book|last1=al-Hassan|first1=Ahmad Y.|author-link=Ahmad Y. al-Hassan|year=2009|chapter=Alcohol and the Distillation of Wine in Arabic Sources from the 8th Century|title=Studies in al-Kimya': Critical Issues in Latin and Arabic Alchemy and Chemistry|location=Hildesheim|publisher=Georg Olms Verlag|pages=283–298}} (same content also available on [http://www.history-science-technology.com/notes/notes7.html the author's website]). See also {{cite book|last1=Berthelot|first1=Marcellin|author1-link=Marcellin Berthelot|last2=Houdas|first2=Octave V.|year=1893|title=La Chimie au Moyen Âge|volume=I |location=Paris|publisher=Imprimerie nationale}} vol. I, pp. 141, 143.</ref> as well as by the [[School of Salerno]] in the 12th century.<ref name="Forbes1970"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Introduction to the history of science |last= Sarton|first=George|year=1975 |publisher=R. E. Krieger Pub. Co.|page= 145|isbn=0-88275-172-7}}</ref>

Grappa is traditionally produced in [[northern Italy]] and is also widely consumed in places such as [[Argentina]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] ([[Chacha (brandy)|chacha]]), [[Uruguay]], [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]] (''orujo'' or ''aguardiente'' in Spanish), and Portugal (known as ''bagaço'' or ''bagaceira'').

There is a legend that tells of a Roman soldier who first distilled grappa in the northern Italian town of [[Bassano del Grappa]] using distilling equipment stolen in Egypt ("Crisiopea di Cleopatra", 2nd century AD). However, the story cannot be considered reliable as such equipment could not produce grappa. [[Distillation]] useful for producing beverages was not discovered until the 8th century, and it probably took about two more centuries for the technology to travel from its home in the [[Levant]] and [[Persia]] to Italy (likely by route of the [[Crusades]]).

Around 1300–1400 AD, however, the introduction of water as a coolant in the distilling equipment made it possible to produce a substantially larger amount of distilled wine and to distill pomace. Around 1600 AD, the [[Jesuits]] in Spain, Italy, and Germany studied and codified the techniques used to produce brandy or grappa, and their methods were used until recent times.<ref>[http://www.istitutograppa.org/modx0921/l-origine-della-parola-grappa.htm Istituto Nazionale Grappa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523093733/http://www.istitutograppa.org/modx0921/l-origine-della-parola-grappa.htm |date=23 May 2009}} {{in lang|it}}.</ref>
The Museum of Wine and Grappa shows historical equipment used in the early years of grappa distillation.

The modernisation of grappa distillation is relatively recent, probably in 1979 in northern Italy. Initially it was carried out by direct flame but soon the advantages of a [[bain-marie]] or steam distillation to obtain a better product became obvious. Modern refinements included the distillation of pomace under vacuum, the use of varietal grapes and ageing in casks of various types of wood to improve the flavor of the liquor. [[Oak]] is the most used, but some more expensive grappas are aged successively in casks of [[acacia]], [[Fraxinus|ash]], and cherry-wood, an innovation introduced by the [[Marzadro Distillery]]. In Sardinia, Grappa is colloquially known as Filu è Ferru (iron wire), as most of the distillation was illegally home-made to avoid customs and excise taxes. The illegally distilled liquor was bottled, sealed and then buried in orchards, fields, and pastures, awaiting sale. A bit of iron wire was tied around the bottleneck, barely protruding through the soil; after some time the wire would rust and disappear completely save for a faintly brown-red stain to the topsoil on the spot where the bottle was buried. While the peasant distiller could easily recognize the colored spot, the urban-schooled [[Guardia di Finanza]] officers were generally unable to tell the difference.