Nardini (grappa)

Aquavite (grappa) Nardini has been produced and bottled in Bassano del Grappa, in the northeastern part of Italy, since 1779. The founder of Italy’s most traditional distillery was Bortolo Nardini who purchased in April of that year, an Inn at the eastern entrance of the famous wooden covered Bassano bridge, on the Brenta river bank. The Inn soon became the “Grapperia Nardini”, strategically located for both the ample water supply, a necessary element in the distillation process, as well as its accessibility to the local regional markets, Venice in primis.

The grappa produced by Nardini not only appealed to the taste of the Bassanese population but also to that of the business travelers frequently passing through the area at that time.

In less than twenty years it became a tradition to have a “cicheto” ( local gaged shot-glass) of grappa before barging down to Venice or to celebrate the closing of a commercial deal.

At the beginning of the 19th century great changes were yet to come which would involve the Nardini Grapperia more than any other place in town. In fact, the icon of Bassano, as well as Nardini corporate trademark, the Ponte Vecchio, became the focal point of every single historical event in the area, binding the Nardini name to the town of Bassano itself. The grapperia Nardini is preserved in its original state allowing it to be included in the exclusive Association of Historical Places of Italy.

In 2004, to counterbalance this historical grappa “temple”, the Nardini family decided to celebrate its 225th Corporate continuity by unveiling the architectural masterpiece BOLLE, which was commissioned three years earlier to the world famous architect Massimiliano Fuksas.

Bolle, an avant-garde visitor center, designed to welcome anyone interested in grappa and its culture, this State of the Art architecture is intended to be a landmark to enhance both the Territory as well as the entrepreneurial culture. Bolle symbolizes what Nardini wants to convey today: A company which is able to combine tradition and innovation With its two distilleries and the modern bottling facility, Nardini is a company which has been able to maintain its great tradition along with the most advanced manufacturing technologies: This makes Nardini the leading brand of high quality grappa, with about 25% of the total market share and an annual production of 4 million bottles which are exported to the most important markets in the world including China, Australia, the United States and Japan. The famous distillery is part of Les Hénokiens, an exclusive international club made up of family companies that are at least 200 years old. At the present time the Company is managed by Giuseppe, Cristina, Angelo, Antonio and Leonardo Nardini; they all belong to the family whose name is synonymous with high quality Italian grappa.

External links

• Nardini webpage
• Nardini UK webpage
• Les Henokiens webpage
• Historical Places webpage