Many in Italy believe Capovilla to be the single best producer of Grappa in the country and we very much agree. Since 1986, the estate has been based in the beautiful old cellars of Villa Dolfin Boldù in Rosa', near Bassano del Grappa, close to Vicenza.
Owner Vittorio Capovilla has chosen to distil his Grappa using small stills that he has especially built for him by a German artisan. He has also chosen to use an artisanal distillation method for his products, via the very high quality bain-marie method, which employs a discontinuous distilling cycle. This means that at the end of every boiling cycle of the marc or pomace, the cycle must be interrupted and the pot emptied and refilled with other new marc or pomace. The discontinuous cycle still can be of three types (direct fire, bain marie and flowing steam) depending on the manner by which the pomace or marc is warmed up, and the bain marie method, though slow and labour-intensive, is particulary famous for extracting aromas and flavours that are highly refined and intense.
Capovilla is also well known for his use of very low levels of sulphur dioxide, and of only very ripe fruit grown in high hillside vineyards. Four hectares owned by Capovilla are officially organically farmed, and the estate has gone out of its way to select old varieties of plums, pear and peaches (among other fruits) that are now rare but of very high quality. Capovilla is especially interested in developing Grappa and Eau-de-vie that are not just fragrant and perfumed, but also full-bodied and rich.
All of Capovilla’s products are hand bottled and hand labelled.
