Luce della Vite Grappa - 50cl

Most grappa is made from whatever pomace a distiller can buy. This one comes from a single, famous source: the skins and seeds left after making Luce, the Sangiovese–Merlot that the Frescobaldi family and Robert Mondavi set up in Montalcino in the mid-1990s.

After harvest the pomace goes straight to Distillerie Poli in the Veneto. The family has been distilling grappa there since the 1890s, and they still use small batches and copper pot stills, which keeps the fruit character that column stills strip out. The spirit then spends time in French oak barriques before bottling. That is why it pours a pale gold, not the water-white of a young grappa.

Expect the wood to show, with vanilla and a little toasted almond around the edges. Underneath you should find what the grapes bring: dried red fruit from the Merlot and a firmer cherry-stone note from the Sangiovese. The oak rounds off the heat, so it drinks more like a gentle brandy than the firewater many people think grappa is. The finish is warm and dry, with a little nuttiness.

A 50cl bottle is a sensible size for a digestif. A small measure after a long Italian dinner is what it's for, and it keeps well once opened.

How to Serve

Because it is oak-aged, serve it at cool room temperature, around 16–18°C, rather than from the freezer. Use a small tulip glass. Chilling it hard flattens the wood and fruit.

Where to Drink It

Bocca di Lupo in Soho, where grappa is a proper end to the meal rather than an afterthought. The River Cafe, after a Tuscan lunch that ran long. Dukes Bar in St James's, for a digestif taken seriously.

Food Pairings

A wedge of aged pecorino with a few walnuts. Or try it the Italian way, a splash in the last of your espresso, the caffè corretto.