Distilleria Castelli

Piemonte

Cortemilia

Established in 1963, Distilleria Castelli is decidedly boutique grappa producer, with it still family owned and operated. The operation goes further back than that, though, with Giuseppe Castelli buying the mothballed Eugene Levi distillery in Piedmont. The Levi family had been distilling since the 1700s.

Today, Giuseppe’s son Sergio runs the show, turning out small batches of high-quality grappa. Sergio painstakingly selects pomace from the best local wine producers, ensuring that the pressed skins and seeds are rich in aromatic materials and as fresh as possible.

The pomace is then carefully aged in an anerobic environment, which intensifies the aromatics further, while also contributing to structural complexity. Once distilled, the grappa is aged in stainless steel tanks, sometimes for years, while some grappas are aged in barrels, followed by further maturation in steel.