THE ART OF DISTILLATION

The best raw materials produced by more than 300 wineries in Friuli are selected throughout the harvest period, with a dedication and care that can only come from love for a territory and deep knowledge of its produce.

Black and white pomace to be conserved respecting precise rules, honed through years of experience, that allow for preservation of the characteristic fragrance – collected fresh, stored in silos, carefully sheltered from the air until the time of their distillation.

If the processing method is one of the elements that makes the difference, then the plant used and developed by Domenis is already a guarantee – a discontinuous structure, entirely of copper, consisting of 8 direct-steam stills, as perfection demands.

Once the pomace has been loaded into the small boilers, the steam is released and the distillation begins through so-called “cotte” [“cooked material”]. It is a slow and complex process which extracts the best aromas from the raw material and leads them to the distillation column, the heart of a system constructed according to precise parameters and developed in-house with great effort, to the point that some structures and procedures are patented by Domenis.

In the figures: about 3,000 tons of raw material per year are processed to produce about 500,000 bottles of high-quality spirits. The human factor in distillation: technology and the environment matter, but the human factor is no less important. The stills of every distillery are truly unique, diversified and tailored by each individual distiller. So it is also for the company of Cividale.

The master distillers at DOMENIS1898 have their own philosophy, a taste for grappa and a feeling for the production process which are absolutely unique and their guiding principles. Like experienced drivers at the helm of a racing car, they know how to develop their plant because it responds to their guidance (even directly building the parts in-house); they know how to adapt it to the diverse raw materials and even to changing working conditions at any given time.

The sensory profile of a grappa is therefore imprinted by the master distiller, by his passion and the legacy of a tradition and a wisdom passed down with care within the company, where distillers join a panel of tasters that help combine the traditional tastes of each distillate when evaluating flavours, scents and aromatic characteristics according to modern trends in perception.

A new sensitivity to an already refined, very prestigious product with a crescendo of admirers also among young people and women.

The awareness that grappa is an increasingly enjoyable product, extremely refined and prestigious but also pleasantly convivial, capable of taking on infinite nuances aromas and fragrances, has led DOMENIS1898 to pay constant attention to the consumer – admirer or novice who is – to bring it closer and closer to the highest quality, style and harmonious balance.

DOMENIS1898 has always worked hard to enrich its production with lines of distillates capable of conquering and enthralling: like Storica, which has become a timeless classic, Blanc and Neri di Domenis who knows how to reserve all the intense sensations and the typical fragrances of the unique grape varieties (the great Cabernet, Sauvignon or Chardonnay, the autochthonous Refosco, Ribolla Gialla and Schioppettino or the famous Moscato) and Futura, able to anticipate new trends.

Attentive to taste, but also ready to respond to all needs and sensitivities: the distillery Friulian is in fact the only company in Italy to produce Kosher grappa – in addition to a line of distillates and liqueurs produced according to biblical and rabbinical norms – and has dedicated itself with commitment to the Biological collection which includes proposals with a surprising taste such as Grappa alla Ruta and Aghemîl, a grappa liqueur with honey.