Editing Grappa

{{Short description|Italian alcoholic beverage}}
{{About|the Italian alcoholic beverage|the settlement in Poland|Grąpa|the village in Serbia|Grapa}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

[[File:A glass of tasty grappa.jpg|thumb|250px|A glass of grappa]]
'''Grappa''' is an alcoholic beverage: a fragrant, grape-based [[pomace brandy]] of Italian origin that contains 35 to 60 percent [[alcohol by volume]] (70 to 120 [[Alcohol proof|US proof]]). Grappa is a protected name in the [[European Union]]. 

Grappa is made by [[Distillation|distilling]] the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the [[pomace]]) left over from [[winemaking]] after [[Pressing (wine)|pressing]] the grapes. It was originally<!-- Beginning in which century? --> made to prevent waste by using these leftovers. A similar drink, known as ''acquavite d'uva'', is made by distilling whole [[must]].

In Italy, grappa is primarily served as a ''[[Italian meal structure#Formal meal structure|digestivo]]'' or [[Apéritif and digestif|after-dinner drink]]. Its main purpose is to aid in the digestion of heavy meals. Grappa may also be added to [[espresso]] coffee to create a ''[[caffè corretto]]'', meaning "corrected" coffee. Another variation of this is the ''[[ammazzacaffè]]'': the espresso is drunk first, followed by a few ounces of grappa served in its own glass. In [[Veneto]], there is ''resentin'': after finishing a cup of espresso with sugar, a few drops of grappa are poured into the nearly empty cup, swirled and drunk down in one sip.

Noted producers of grappa include [[Jacopo Poli]], [[Nardini (grappa)|Nardini]], and [[Nonino]]. These grappas are produced in significant quantities and are exported; there are also many small local or regional grappas.
 
Most grappa is clear, indicating it is an unaged distillate, although some may retain very faint pigments from their original fruit pomace. Lately,{{Clarify|date=March 2013}} aged grappas have become more common, and these take on a yellow or red-brown hue from the barrels in which they are stored.

Grappa is also well known in [[Uruguay]] and [[Argentina]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Caddy|first=Cosmo|date=2017-08-10|title=Where is Grappa Produced? {{!}} News|url=https://devondistillery.com/where-is-grappa-produced/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Devon Distillery|language=en-GB|archive-date=3 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203221157/https://devondistillery.com/where-is-grappa-produced/|url-status=dead}}</ref> due to the significant Italian immigration in those countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Origins Of Grappa |url=https://www.superveloce.co/blog/the-origins-of-grappa |access-date=2020-11-12 |website=www.superveloce.co}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-16 |title=Pomance Brandy, Grappa, Marc, What is it? |url=https://www.millvilledistillery.com/2019/06/16/pomance-brandy-grappa-marc-what-is-it/ |access-date=2020-11-12 |website=Millville Distillery |language=en-US |archive-date=26 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126165347/https://www.millvilledistillery.com/2019/06/16/pomance-brandy-grappa-marc-what-is-it/ |url-status=dead}} </ref> It is served as in Italy, after the main meals. In Uruguay, a local version called [[grappamiel]] has also been created, which sees honey added to the traditional grappa. It is widely served and mostly drunk in winter because it "warms" the throat.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Uruguay - The 2010 FIFA World Cup Bites and Boozes|url=http://www.biteandbooze.com/2010/06/uruguay-2010-fifa-world-cup-bites-and.html|access-date=2020-11-12|language=en}}</ref>

==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.

==PGI status==
Grappa is a [[Geographical indications and traditional specialities in the European Union#Protected geographical indication (PGI)|protected name (PGI)]] in the [[European Union]]. To be called grappa, the following criteria must be met:<ref>Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1552085245556&uri=CELEX:32008R0110 Regulation (EC) No 110/2008.], Annex II paragraph 6 (grape marc spirit) and Annex III (geographical indications)</ref>

# Produced in Italy, or in the Italian part of [[Switzerland]], or in [[San Marino]]
# Produced from [[pomace]]
# Fermentation and distillation must occur on the pomace—no added water

Criterion 2 rules out the direct fermentation of pure grape juice, which is the method used to produce [[brandy]].

Criterion 3 has two important implications. First, the distillation must occur on solids. Thus, it is carried out not with a direct flame but with a [[bain-marie]] or [[steam distillation]]; otherwise, the pomace may burn. Second, the woody parts of the grapes (the stems and seeds) are co-fermented with the sugar-rich juice; this produces a very small amount of [[methanol]], which is much more toxic than ethanol. Unlike in the similar process of making red wine, in grappa the methanol must be carefully removed during distillation. That is why there is an Italian law requiring winemakers to sell their pomace to grappa makers; this is a measure that was taken against [[moonshine]] operations, which are now very rare in Italy.

Use of the word grappa for product distilled in the United States is still allowed and falls under the Class definition of brandy further classified type as pomace, specifically grappa or grappa brandy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr;sid=5ea7acdd54dff93dbce97e668013dfd8;rgn=div8;view=text;node=27%3A1.0.1.1.3.3.25.2;idno=27;cc=ecfr|title=eCFR – Code of Federal Regulations|access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref>

==Tasting==
[[File:Grappa soorten.JPG|thumb|250px|A selection of grappas]]
Professional tasters distinguish among four categories of grappa: young, cask-conditioned, aromatic, and aromatized. Grappa tastings begin with young grappas, then continue with cask-conditioned and aromatic grappas, and finish with aromatized grappas.

The flavor of grappa, like that of wine, depends on the type and quality of the grapes used, as well as the specifics of the distillation process. 

When the tasting involves more than one grappa from the same category, the examination begins with the grappa that has the lowest alcohol content and concludes with the product richest in alcohol. When two grappas have the same alcohol content, the tasting begins with the smoother and less markedly flavored product, which the organizer of the tasting will have selected beforehand.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

After each tasting, and before sampling another glass, some tasters recommend drinking half a glass of milk to refresh the taste receptors on the tongue.

Various other food products can help stop taste-characteristics of one grappa from "dragging" or carrying over to the next. Foods that are effective in this role as well as providing an agreeable accompaniment to grappa's own flavor include:
* Salted [[pistachio]] nuts

With the introduction of "[[boutique]]" grappas, elaborate flute glasses have been promoted; traditionalists continue to taste grappa in [[shot glass]]es.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GRID|date=2018-02-07 |title=Know Your Grappa Glass |url=https://www.grappamarolo.it/en/stories/grappa-glass/ |access-date=2020-11-12 |website=Grappa Marolo}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|Drink}}
* [[List of geographical designations for spirit drinks in the European Union]]
* ''[[Aguardiente]]'': Chile
* ''[[Aragh Sagi|Aragh]]'': Persia
* ''Bagaceira'': Portugal
* ''[[Chacha (liquor)|Chacha]]'': [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
* ''[[:it:Filu 'e ferru|Filu 'e ferru]]'': Sardinia
* ''Loza'' or ''[[rakija]]'': Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia
* ''Marc'': France
* ''[[Oghi (beverage)|Oghi]]'': [[Armenia]]
* ''[[Orujo]]'': Spain
* ''[[Pisco]]'': [[Peru]]
* ''Rachiu de tescovină'': Romania
* ''[[Rakia]]/[[Rakija]]'': Balkans
* ''[[Rakia]]'' (Pакия): Bulgaria
* ''[[Törkölypálinka]]'': Hungary
* ''Tresterbrand'': Germany
* ''[[Tsipouro]]'': Greece
* ''[[Zivania]]'': [[Cyprus]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Ove Boudin, ''Grappa: Italy Bottled'' ([http://www.wineappreciation.com/ Wine Appreciation Guild] 2008).
* Axel Behrendt, et al., ''Grappa: A Guide to the Best'' ([[Abbeville Publishing Group (Abbeville Press, Inc.)]] 2000).

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02008R0110-20180823&qid=1542104669434&from=EN Council Regulation (EEC) No 110/2008 of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (revised vers. of 23/08/2018)]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grappa| ]]
[[Category:Pomace brandies]]
[[Category:Brandies]]