Barrel Aged Grappa

We fell in love with Grappa in Italy many years ago. After studying the possibilities of how to make a really great Grappa, we collaborated with a Master Distiller friend who owns and runs the first commercial distillery in Santa Barbara County since prohibition. He has a perfect alembic pot still and knows exactly how to use it. We selected Pinot Noir from Bentrock vineyard in Sta Rita Hills and used the pomace from a lightly pressed 5 ton lot. The pomace was brought to the distillery right after pressing and a small amount of water was added back with sugar and yeast to start a refermentation of the pomace. Once that was done, the distillation began. We were keen to use only the “heart” and discarded the “head and tail” (about 40%).  We did the same for a second distillation, also only kept only the “heart”.  This double-distilled “heart of the heart” Grappa was 94% ABV when complete and did not yield much given our starting material, but we were very happy with the results. 

We chose to barrel age some at 70% ABV in a tight French oak barrel, previously used once for Chardonnay. We aged this Grappa for 3 years until it was super smooth and rich with a beautiful golden amber hue. Both Grappas were brought down to 40% ABV using purified water prior to bottling.