Perched atop a hill in Warrandyte – not much more than 30 minutes north-east of the city – sits Pietro Gallus Estate. Just about every product it offers is estate-grown and made, from wines like shiraz and sangiovese to olive oil and preserves. The on-site distillery has achieved fame for its limoncello (from the estate’s own lemon trees, naturally) and other liqueurs, but it’s the misunderstood spirit grappa that founders Anna Gallo and John Di Pietro have become increasingly passionate about.

Now, with the opening of their new grappa tasting bar, Gallo and Di Pietro are hoping to right some wrongly held views about the Italian-born sprit.

“Grappa has a massive stigma attached to it,” Gallo tells Broadsheet. “Most people had a Greek or Italian neighbour making it at home. Our grappa has different levels of alcohol content but … it could be anything up to 60 or 65 per cent. But people instantly react as, ‘Oh, that’s rocket fuel and not digestible and very hard to drink.’”

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Lead by head distiller Nathan Rigby, Pietro Gallus is producing grappa that’s a cut above the homemade stuff. “We know, being of Italian heritage, that grappa is an incredible spirit, and when made properly and refined, it’s as good as any spirit,” says Gallo.

Grappa is a variety of what’s technically called pomace brandy – a fragrant spirit distilled from the skins, pulp, seeds and stems (aka the pomace) left over from wine production. With grapes only harvested seasonally, it’s all about timing with grappa. “I only get to make [it] a couple of months of the year,” Rigby says. “The yields in grappa are low, it’s tough to make, but the results are like wine – you get to capture the vintage; it’s special. It’s not just pulling the grain out of a silo down the road.”

Here, he’s producing grappa only from single grape varieties. Moscato – typically associated with sweet, entry-level wines – forms the basis of a softly textured grappa characterised by aromas of Turkish delight and rose petals. Another, from the prosecco variety, is a more robust and traditional style, the sort for warming nips in winter.

Where Pietro Gallus pushes the envelope, though, is with the grappa stravecchia – a barbera-grape spirit aged for two years in cognac casks, with whisky-like depth and complexity. “Traditional barrel-ageing of grappa, it’s not like whisky – two years is a long time, as you want the base spirit to be present,” says Rigby. “We wanted to make something here that was a bit more approachable to the Australian audience. A bit more of a Tasmanian whisky influence there without compromising on the base spirit.”

At the sleek new tasting bar, you’ll find flights featuring each variety of grappa (including a pinot-grigio expression and a coffee-grappa liqueur), plus the full range of other Pietro Gallus liqueurs. Each flight is a trio of tasters presented on a disc of white marble, so it’s worth picking a few to experience the flavours of the various liquorice, chocolate, lime and creamy lemon liqueurs. There’s also a substantial list of cocktails and spritzes. The Midday Negroni features the estate’s gin and coffee-grappa liqueur (plus Campari and red vermouth), while the Big Bastardo spritz champions the house-made prickly pear amaro alongside Pietro Gallus sparkling and soda.

The bar itself is expansive, with dark, metal-framed windows opening up onto a paved courtyard. The mirrored wall behind the bar reflects the slope of the estate’s landscape and its avenues of Italian cypress trees and olive groves. The design, by Gallo and Di Pietro, is heavily influenced by Italian materials. “The floor is travertine, so when you walk on it and look down you feel like you’re in Rome or Florence or Venice,” says Gallo. Completing the look is a seven-metre concrete bar and touches of black marble.

Private tastings and distillery tours are bookable, as are the estate’s picnic huts – among native bushland – which you’ll be escorted to on a buggy to feast on cheese and charcuterie platters, while tasting some of Pietro Gallus’s finest drops.

Pietro Gallus Tasting Bar
54-56 Brumbys Road, Warrandyte South

Hours:
Thu 11.30am–4pm
Fri to Sun 11.30am–7pm

pietrogallusestate.com.au