Things to do in Italy, Italy: The Best Distilleries

Production of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and Balsamic Condiment. The Villa of Vinegar in Modena On March 14th 1910 the project of the Villa was submitted on behalf of Lieutenant Claudio San Donnino. It was later to become an exquisite example of Emilia Romagna "liberty". Frescoes and decorations by Aroldo Bonzaghi (1887-1918) with evocative and voluptuous "dannunzian" allegories generate a magical atmosphere. In that extraordinary place, Davide and Cristina invite you to taste special products of Villa San Donnino.

Distilleria Beccaris was established thanks to a sort of “game of chance”. In fact , in 1951 its founder Elio Beccaris decided to start its own firm but he did not know whether it had to be a distillery, a winery or a vinegar factory. So he made his new born son Carlo decide by putting three slips of paper with the three alternatives in a hat and letting him take one, the ultimate decision should be taken by his innocent and unaware hand and it proved to be the lucky one. Carlo Beccaris now show in his personality the same rare and essential characteristics of seriousness of his firm, handicraft care and passion originating high quality. The production cycle starts at the end of the summer with the selection of the best marcs from the vineyards located in the heart of the region between Langhe and Monferrato. Then come the other phases of production: distillation, ageing, and the packaging of the bottles that every year are put on the market after a carefully controlled process.

Established in 1898, Poli Distillerie is an artisan-type company owned by the Poli family and located in Schiavon, near Bassano del Grappa, in the heart of Veneto, the most renowned region in Italy for Grappa production.The bulding of the Poli Distillery is considered to be of major historical interest because of its portico structure which is typical of the old Veneto rural dwellings.

In the heart of the ancient Neapolis near the "Decumano Maggiore" recognized asUNESCO World Heritage, Limone offers with its production the flavours and thefragrances of the Napolitantradition. Limone is much more than a simple factory of liquors: it wants to follow the traditions handed downfrom generation to generation in order to discover the pleasure of sharing together the traditional and genuine flavours and aromas. A firm able to bring the traditions in the place where they were born: this was the project when Limone started its activities. The idea is still the same. Limone is the place where one can still find genuine and handmade food production as well as the flavours of homemade liquors. Limoncello, creams, rucolino (liquor with arugula), finocchietto (liquor with selvatic fennel), and baba (Napolitan cake), are just some products which gave notoriety to our brand. The secret of our success is based on the handmade production as well as on the traditional recipes. Limone achieved remarkable results through a particular attention on the quality of its production, which is internationally recognized. This is the reason why Limone is recommendedon the most famous Naples guidebooks (Routard, Lonely Planet, Hachette, Dumont) whichsuggest to visit our small factory. Limonebegan with the production of few liquors, then inspired by the Napolitan handmade tradition itintroduced other products. The most famous liquor is the limoncello, which is prepared following an ancient family recipe. Our limoncello is produced using a particular green lemon called "verdello" with excellent digestive proprieties and produced without chemicals. Each lemon is peeled by hand as it was an homemade process. All the lemons come from "CampiFlegrei"and the harvest is without chemicals or phytopharmaceutical products. Our peculiarity is that Limone does not produce just liquors, while a variety of products based on lemon (pasta with lemon, lemon grappa, lemon olive oil, to name but a few). During the visit of our factory we explain to our clients the whole productive process and they often feel at home. Limone is also a sort of archeological museum: inside our factory there are a well of IV century B.C. Which was part of the Greek aqueduct as well as a wall in "opus reticulatum" of Dioscuri's Temple. The liquors testing and the archeological visit is an incredible surprise for our clients. Finally, the key of success was our clients affection. They increasedyear by year recognizing the efforts of our small enterprise. Many clients come back bringing their friends, and they act as small Limone promoters. Many of them became very expert guide regarding liquors production. We were born in 1996 as a small factory, but nowadays we are an unmissablestop-over during the city historical center tour. The creativity of the young managers tends to continuously find new synthesis between tradition and innovation. Our motto always was: "Conservareilsapore e conservareiilsapere" (Preserve a flavor means preserving knowledge).

Acetaia giusti is the oldest producer of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, founded in 1605. Nowadays, the company is run by the 17th generation of the Giusti family. A history of more than 400 years full of awards received during the World Exhibitions of the late ‘800s. Among them: the 14 gold medals and the Coat of Arms of the Royal House of Savoia that now characterize the labels of our bottles. The Giusti Balsamic Vinegar collections are available in the most exclusive restaurants and shops in Italy and worldwide.

Mazzetti d'Altavilla - Distillers since 1846 represents the most historic Distillery of Grappa in the North-West of Italy and one of the oldest ones in Italy. Established almost 200 years ago in the heart of Monferrato, Mazzetti d’Altavilla every year distills fresh pomaces of the most noble Piedmontese vines creating km 0 Grappa. Prestigious are the young and aged Spirits and the Reserves and also the Brandies, Grape Distillates, Liquors, Fruits with Grappa and other typicalities, available in the best Italian stores, at the Grappa Stores of Altavilla Monferrato, Marcallo (Milan) and Milan and in many foreign countries. It's possible to visit the Distillery every day by reservation and there is also a restaurant called "Materia Prima" where it's also possible (by reservation) to taste specialties with special pairings with distillates.

The distillery was built by Serafino Levi and was fitted, then as now, with a direct-fire still. The Levi house-distillery is now a living, Grappa production museum, a real time capsule, where the Genius Loci of Romano Levi, hovers everywhere in art, in the method and time of work, in the simple and basic objects, scents and serenity. The distillery is always open to everyone, it’s a bit more difficult is to find some bottles ready for sale, as the very low production capacity cannot meet the demand that comes from all over the world, but connoisseurs are aware of this, they enjoy the serenity of the place, don’t get angry and wait or try again patiently.