Nonino History

The art of distillation has been a Nonino Family privilege since 1897

Quality, innovation, research, professionalism and love for their work are their distinctive mark. Orazio Nonino, the founder of the family, is ultimately followed by Luigi, Antonio, Benito with Giannola, Cristina, Antonella, Elisabetta and Francesca Nonino.
Orazio Nonino establishes his own distillery in Ronchi di Pavia. Until this point it had been only a moveable still assembled on wheels.

Antonio, Vigi’s son and Benito’s father, marries Silvia Milocco, who becomes the first woman to produce Grappa in Italy.
The distillery moves from Ronchi to Percoto

Antonio Nonino in compliance with the law dated 27.11.1933 Regio Decreto (Royal Decree) N.1604 art.1, which obliges to make the bottling and packaging of grappa in bottles with a regular label and the State seal, creates the label that reproduces the “fogolar furlan”, a great fireplace, always lighted, the center of the ancient Friulian house around which the family gathered to work, chat and drink a good “bussul” of Grappa.

Antonio Nonino, third generation of the family of distillers, thanks to an ancient knowledge kept for generations, starts the production of Nonino liqueurs. He creates Amaro Carnia, an infusion of herbs from the mountains of Friuli, using the grappa he distilled as the alcoholic basis.

Silvia Nonino – Antonio’s wife and an excellent cook – left a widower becomes the first woman to manage a distillery; her great knowledge of botanicals leads her to create the “Aperitivo Bianco Nonino”, a drink for the pleasure of the palate and the spirit. It is the first time that in the distillery they experience the female touch in the art of liqueurs and distillation. Silvia will be the first of a long series of Nonino woman distillers.

Silvia Nonino – Antonio’s wife and an excellent cook – left a widower becomes the first woman to manage a distillery and decides to enrich the recipe of the Amaro Carnia, with highly selected botanicals, to give the amaro a stronger personality. Amaro del Friuli is born.

Benito marries Giannola Bulfoni. Together they embark on passionate research, striving to turn Grappa from a “Cinderella” into a “Queen”. As a result of their marriage, three daughters, Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta are born.

The Noninos introduce their “Aquavitae Optima”, obtained from the distillation of single varietal pomace from prestigious grape growers: the label indicates the year, the quantity distilled, the litres obtained and the number of the bottle. It is the first of a series of tests which would lead to the creation of “Monovitigno” (single varietal) Grappa.

The new era of Grappa begins in Percoto. Benito and Giannola create the first Cru single varietal Grappa: not by chance this time but as the result of their love for their work, study, research and experimentation. For such an important event they choose the rarest and most prestigious vine of Friuli: Picolit.

Second distillation of Picolit single-grape grappa, first distillation of Ribolla single-grape grappa.

Searching for the ancient autochthonous Friulian vine varieties to distil their pomace, the Noninos discover that the most representative of them – such as Schioppettino, Tazzelenghe and Pignolo – are dying out because, as they have not been inserted in the European Community list of the viticultural varieties cultivated in Friuli, their growing is forbidden. These varieties are joined by Ribolla gialla. With the aim of having them officially acknowledged by national and EC boards, thus preserving the biodiversity of the territory, they found the Nonino Risit d’Aur Prize – Gold Vine Shoot to award every year the vine grower that has bedded the best plant of one or more of these vine varieties, and a scholarship to award the best study, both technical and historical, concerning the vine varieties of Ribolla gialla, Schioppettino, Pignolo and Tazzelenghe.
The jury is composed by Luigi Veronelli, Orfeo Salvador (President of the vine-growing and wine-making regional center of Friuli Venezia Giulia), Antonio Calò (director of the vine-growing experimental institute of Conegliano), Ruggero Forti (national and regional president of farmers), Amelio Tubaro (director of agricultural production, Department of Agriculture) and Ennio Nussi (director of the vine-growing and wine-making regional center of Friuli Venezia Giulia).

Giannola Nonino starts the bureaucratic procedures for the request of acknowledgement of such vines sending an official letter to the Regional center for vine-growing of Friuli Venezia Giulia, to President Orfeo Salvador, and stimulating with sensibility, passion and persistence the Vine-Growing Experimental Institute of Conegliano, whose director had joined the jury of the prize.

With D.M. 14.06.1977 (Ministerial Decree), the autochthonous vines of Friuli, which before were forbidden, are authorized and in 1983 the Nonino risit d’Aur Prize obtains the EEC regulations nr. 382 by which the vines authorized in 1977 become recommended and today they are the flagships of Friulian vine-growing.

The Nonino’s distillery grows from 12 to 24 stills. 1200 quintals of pomace a day are distilled with discontinuous apparatus, working 24 hours a day, holidays included. There is no more silo-stored pomace but immediate distillation for red fermented pomace and 48 hours of ensilage for white pomace (sweet pomace). In the old forge where at the turn of the century Giannola’s father built ploughs, a small distillery dedicated to Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta Nonino is born: it is made up of 6 particular and exclusive stills created by Benito for the distillation of single varietal Grappa and fruit distillates.

The Noninos mark a new turning point. They distil the whole grape and create the Grape Distillate Ùe®. The Ministerial Authorization for the production of the grape distillate (D.M. 20th October, 1984 – G.U. n. 318 of 19th November, 1984) is granted following a specific request by the Noninos.

To highlight the preciousness of this new distillate, the Noninos ask Venini, the Master Glassmaker in Murano, to hand-blow a bottle with an image of a bunch of grapes contained within the glass. Thus began the precious Nonino Collection Ùe® Grape Distillate Cru Monovitigno® Picolit which every year is stored in specially dated, hand-blown bottles by Venini, Baccarat and Riedel.

The Nonino Distillery marks its 90th year as a “permanent location”: the occasion calls for great celebrations and a book about the Noninos is written by Emilio Rigatti and illustrated by Altan. in the cellars of Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta begins the ageing process of ÙE® Grape Distillate. This process is unique for innovation and research.

This is an unforgettable date: the Honourable Filippo Maria Pandolfi, Minister for Agriculture, officially inaugurates the distillery of Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta.

The Noninos plant 40 hectares of experimental vineyard with Picolit, Ribolla Gialla, Fragolino, Schioppettino and Sauvignon grapes in Buttrio – Friuli.
These grapes will be used to produce Grappa and ÙE® Grape Distillates of unmatched quality and characteristics.

In the continuous research of absolute quality, Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta replace grappa in the recipe of the family amaro with ÙE® Grape distillate aged in barriques and small casks, the grape distillate created by their parents Giannola and Benito in 1984. From an ancient family recipe a modern classic is born: Amaro Nonino Quintessentia®.

The Celebrations of the Centenary of the Family start with “Oh les beaux jours” by Samuel Beckett, directed by Peter Brook and starring Natasha Parry. It is a magic moment underlined by the presence of Peter Brook and many friends.

One Hundred Years of Distillation

Altan dedicates to “Ben – Noah’s fourth son” the graphic novel that recounts in sketches the Nonino Family saga. On the occasion of the XXii edition of the Nonino Prize, the “Nonino Vineyards” are introduced: “The Merlot”, “The Tocai”, “The Chardonay” of single varietal Grappa. “The Sauvignon”, “The Malvasia”, “The Refosco” of single varietal ÙE® are launched to celebrate the Hundred years of distillation.

For the Celebration of the Hundred Years of distillation, the 1986 vintage ÙE® Cru Monovitigno® Picolit distillate, aged in Nevers barriques, is bottled in 400 numbered bottles, made of hand-blown Riedel glass and designed by Luca Cendali.

Giannola Bulfoni Nonino is awarded “Cavaliere del lavoro” by the President of the Italian Republic: the most important labour honour. Giannola is among the only 25 women awarded in the history of the Republic with the following statement: “Since she was very young she has devoted herself to distillation and to improving the intrinsic value of Grappa, bringing the product up to the level of the most demanding and sophisticated of consumers. She has introduced innovation in the production process so as to create grape distillate. She started, with her husband Benito, the building of a new distillery which was technologically advanced but respectful of tradition and of the environment and, in 1976, she created the Nonino Prize with the clear aim of defending the values of rustic civilization”.

A concert by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado for the Twenty-fifth anniversary of the Nonino Prize.

After years of research into honey, which in ancient times was thought to be a miracle of nature, Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta, introduce GIOIELLO®, the distillate of ‘Purity’ obtained from the distillation of honey alone in all the varieties of its tastes, from acacia to chestnut and from sunflower to wildflower honey, each with its delicate, intoxicating and winning spirit, the perfect embodiment of purity.

At Christie’s in London, at the most important Italian wine and distillates auction ever held until that moment, some pieces of the Nonino Collection are put up for auction and they fetch from GB£ 1,540 – € 2531,00 vintage 1990, to GB£ 1,595 – € 2664,00 vintage 1989.

At the “Salone del Gusto” of Turin, Alain Senderens chef de “Lucas Carton” Paris, and Alfonso Iaccarino chef de “Don Alfonso 1890”, Sant’agata sui due Golfi, are the “godfathers” of ÙE® la riserva ‘dei Cent’anni’, placing it alongside all the great Cognacs, Armagnacs and Rums in respect of its quality, pleasure and sensations, and consider it a perfect partner to Cuban cigars and excellent with exceptionally flavourful cheese.

The University of Udine and mr. Claudio Demattè launch the volume “Il caso Nonino, lo spirito d’impresa” (The Nonino case: the spirit of enterprise) by Cristiana Compagno, edited by Utet-Isedi.

Jewels and Jewels, the Nonino Collection is introduced in Rome in the jewels world temple: Bulgari, via dei Condotti.

At Finarte in Milan ÙE® Cru Monovitigno® Picolit, vintage 1984, La Murrina is auctioned for € 2.169,00.

Yokohama. At the Exhibition “Italy in Japan 2001” mounted by Andrea Branzi for the Triennale of Milan, the Grappa Nonino ÙE® Cru Monovitigno Picolit and the Nonino Collection is exhibited in the section “Design as a life style –Design of senses”.

The AIS, Italian Association of Sommeliers awards the Nonino Family the prestigious Prize “Oscar del Vino 2002” (Wine Oscar 2002) – Special Prize of the Jury with the following motivation: “… for the extraordinary work that a family has been doing … in favour of a totally Italian product. It recognizes the Noninos’ outstanding image, high quality, careful research and experimentation. Plaudits come from all over, from The President of the Republic to the most prestigious national and international acknowledgements”.

Thirty years ago Benito and Giannola Nonino revolutionized the way of producing and presenting Grappa in Italy and around the world. It was the birth of single varietal Grappa, Monovitigno® Nonino, in which the pomace of Picolit grapes is distilled separately. Their success was so great that most Italian and foreign producers felt compelled to follow the Nonino model.

In Bordeaux, GIOIELO®, the Nonino Citrus Fruit Honey Distillate, is the only product selected by the Bordeaux Vinexpo 2003 Committee to represent Italy in the publication “The World in Anticipation”.

The Milan Triennale in honour of the Thirtieth anniversary of the Nonino Monovitigno® dedicates to the Nonino The Story of a Passion: an exhibition about the Nonino family.

The President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awards Giannola and Benito Nonino the prestigious “Leonardo Prize for Italian Quality” for “the absolute quality level, research and innovations which characterize a brand that conveys to the outside world, above all, the importance of family and commitment to one’s work. The Noninos are well-known, true ambassadors for Italian Grappa throughout the world”.

The New York Times chooses to dedicate its “Saturday Profile” section to the Nonino family on the occasion of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the creation of the Single-varietal Nonino Monovitigno® Grappa.

The International Herald Tribune dedicates a whole article “A Dynamo and her Daughters turn leftovers to Gold” to the Nonino family and puts the article on the front page.

“Back to the Beginning” in their great-great grandfather’s distillery. The Noninos re-established their artisanal batch steam stills, 12 for each member of the family, plus one for each grandchild as a sign of continuity of the distillation art, at Ronchi di Percoto for the production of the Nonino Distillate, respecting the tradition and the rhythms of true craftsmanship.

The University of Udine confers a special honorary degree in Business Economics to Giannola Bulfoni Nonino with the following justification:  “As a cultural entrepreneur she enhances the intrinsic value of Grappa, ennobles it and ensures that it is known throughout the world with the help of an exceptional marketing tool, the Nonino Prize. This awards body which commands high profile cultural patronage and holds important international significance was created by her and she has now directed it in her indefatigable manner for thirty years”.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung devoted a whole page to the Nonino Grappa in its prestigious Sunday economic supplement.

At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, “the largest competition in America with 800 spirits from 63 countries”, the Nonino Grappa Cru Monovitigno® Picolit is awarded the Double Gold medal for excellence in design which recognizes excellence in package design for its artistic merit and brand-enhancing communicative qualities.

During the Navarra Gourmet event in Pamplona, Spain, Giannola Nonino is awarded the International Eva Prize 2009, Empresaria del Año (Entrepreneur of the year), reserved to the women bound to the world’s oenogastronomy, with the following motivation:
“Giannola Nonino is one of the most important entrepreneurs in the Italian oenogastronomic overview. Her company, well known all over the world, has been the protagonist of the renaissance of Italian Grappa, the most ancient distillate of Northern Italy. The Nonino tradition started in 1897 with Orazio and has come to our days with Giannola and Benito. Since 1928 the distillery has been in Percoto, province of Udine, where, under the same roof, there are 5 artisan distilleries, one for each member of the family, for a total of 12 discontinuous steam stills for each ember of the family, with the addition of 6 for their grandchildren, as a sign of continuity in the art of distillation. Giannola Nonino and her family are famous also for the Nonino Prize, established in 1975 for the improvement of rustic civilization, acknowledged at international level”.

In occasion of the first Ultimate Spirits Challenge, held in New York, competing with over 520 distillates from 42 countries, Grappa Nonino il Merlot ins the Chairman’s Trophy, the most important acknowledgement of the category World Brandy, Grappa & Grape Distillate.

High “Spirit” Craftsmanship. The Nonino Collection ÙE® Cru Monovitigno® Picolit joins the Permanent Collection of Italian Design of the Triennale Design Museum.
The collection represents one of the most important examples of high craftsmanship that combines the art of distillation of the Nonino Family with the ancient processing of the glass-making tradition of Venini in Murano and the most important European traditions of Baccarat and Riedel crystal. Unique example in the world of the excellence of the Made in Italy.

Fendi presents The Whispered Directory of Craftsmanship a guide to Made in Italy, strictly Handmade. Borsalino, Buccellati, Fendi, Maserati, Nonino Distillatori, Riva, Rubelli, Slow Food, Venini… brands with different places of origin, but joined by a great passion for craftsmanship, for the attention to details, for a mix of tradition and innovation that converge in a unique product. The first guide to the excellence of the Made in Italy, published by Mondadori Electa where Fendi tellsthe history of handmade in Italy: each entry is associated to the names and places of the craftsmen and their stories.

www.thewhispered.it

F. Paul Pacult, defined by Forbes “America’s foremost expert on distilled spirits”, selects Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Picolit among the five extraordinary distillates in the “Hall of Fame” of the prestigious quarterly Spirit Journal. Grappa Nonino is the only grappa in the most prestigious pantheon of distilled spirits in the world, which rises above ratings and reviews as a reference point of excellence for its category in all the years to come.

Grappa Nonino will be the protagonist of FOS’s work of Art in the Danish Pavilion at the 54 International Art Exhibition La Biennale of Venice. Katerina Gregos, the curator of the Danish Pavilion has selected a group of artists that will develop their works on the theme “Speech Matters”, object the freedom of expression. FOS’s Osloo will be part of this program and he has chosen Grappa Nonino as a part of his work because grappa, with its distillation process, is a perfect metaphor for FOS’s artistic approach as it metaphorically represents the social situations that they want to create on Osloo.

The Nonino Collection ÙE® Cru Monovitigno® Picolit has been selected in order to represent the excellence of distillation in the exhibition OLC25 Options of Luxury by Italo Rota at the Triennale of Milano. Together with the Nonino Collection the most prestigious brands of international luxury: Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani, Ferrari, Montblanc, Chanel, Tiffany, Roger Vivier and many others. Next exhibition venues: New York, Seoul, Shanghai.

F. Paul Pacult, defined by Forbes “America’s foremost expert on distilled spirits”, reconfirms Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Picolit among the extraordinary Distillates of the world in the “Hall of Fame” of the prestigious quarterly Spirit Journal.

Rai 5, the Italian radio and television company dedicates a documentary to the Nonino Family and Grappa: Dynasties “Stories, tales and events of who has made Italy great” to tell of a part of Italy that has breathed history and has been part of it creating something innovative, a symbol of the Made in Italy also abroad.

Watch the documentary

Forty years ago the Noninos created Grappa Monovitigno® and turned it from Cinderella into a Queen of distillates! The distillation of the pomace from a single vine is the Nonino revolution in the way of producing and introducing Grappa in Italy and in the World!

Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Picolit gets 99 out of 100 and turns out the best Grappa with the top score which overcomes all Grappas, even Aged and Reserve in the ranking of falstaff, the influential Austrian magazine of lifestyle and enogastronomy for experts and connoisseurs!

Thirty years of ÙE® Grape Distillate, created by Giannola and Benito Nonino.

Grappa Nonino is taken as an example and icon of artisanal Grappa in “How It’s Made”, the famous documentary broadcast on the American network of Discovery Channel, the thematic channel that satisfies all sorts of curiosities.

Harrods, the icon of Luxury in the world celebrates the theme “Stealing Beauty” capturing beauty. The Legendary Grappa Nonino is made an object of desire in the impressive London window dedicated to the most precious destillates in the world. Grappa Nonino embodies the expression of Italian excellence in the invitation to a sensory experience impossible to resist to.

Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Picolit is reconfirmed once more the only Grappa present in the list of the top world distillates, in the “HALL OF FAME” of the prestigious quarterly SPIRIT JOURNAL.

Grappa Nonino is ready to take off with Alitalia: the representative in the world of the Italian excellence in the production of Grappa and Distillates and in the Culture of Distillation, the Nonino is selected together with some of the greatest Italian brands, like Diego Dalla Palma, Ferrari, Frau and Lavazza, to represent the maximum expression of the Made in Italy in the skies of the whole world.

1897 – 2017: from Orazio to Benito, from Benito to Cristina, Antonella and Elisabetta. The celebrations for the 120 years of Distillation with artisanal method open.

The story of a Passion handed down from father to daughter.

The Nonino revolution “from Cinderella to a Queen of the market”, carried on by Giannola – the wife of Benito, an exceptional distiller – is chosen as a case study by the London School of Economics (LSE) Business Review, one of the most influential academic reviews in the world.

In “How to turn a product from Cinderella into a queen of the market” it tells the Nonino revolution “carried on by Giannola – the wife of Benito, an exceptional distiller” and of how Nonino thanks to passion, determination, commitment and authenticity elevated the status of Grappa, making it become a hedonistic must, on the same level as whisky and cognac.

Düsseldorf, Germany: the 13^th edition of the Meininger Award awarded the coveted prize to the Noninos for “repeatedly providing breakthrough innovations in the grappa market and consolidating its position as a pioneer of quality”. Giannola Nonino received the prize, together with Antonella, Elisabetta and Francesca, Cristina’s daughter. It is the first time this prize is awarded to Grappa.

Read the Nonino Press Release

Grappa Nonino supports P(OUR) the no-profit organization of the bartender community with thirst of knowledge. The international charitable project created by Alex Kratena, Simone Caporale, Monica Berg, Xavier Padovani, JimMeehan, Joerg Meyer, Ryan Chetiyawardana wants to create a global community of bartenders, barmen, sommelier, brewers, distillers and wine producers which can stimulate and reinvent the beverage world through new ideas, knowledge, inspirations, experiences and values.

Discover more about P(OUR)

To celebrate 120 years of the Nonino Distilleries, the family introduces Grappa Nonino Riserva Aged 22 Years under Seal. 883 numbered bottles. It is distilled by Benito in copper batch steam stills in the Distilleries in Ronchi di Percoto, 100% with artisanal method, and Aged 22 years under seal and permanent surveillance by the Customs and Monopoly Agency in the Nevers oak barrique No. 1062 and in the ex-Sherry small cask No. 362 in their own the Ageing Cellar No. 1. 0% color additives. Rare and precious, with a light smoked scent, natural.

Discover more

Cristina, Antonella, Elisabetta and Francesca Nonino, revise in a contemporary key the recipe of their grandmother / great-grandmother creating an infusion of botanicals completely natural and vegan friendly, made precious by ÙE® Grape Distillate Fragolino Monovitigno® from the Nonino vineyards. L’Aperitivo Nonino BotanicalDrink is the first all natural and vegan friendly aperitif.

Wine Star Award appoints Grappa Nonino “ Distillery of the year”.
The prize, created by Wine Enthusiast which has now reached the twentieth edition, honors the the Nonino family “For its vision to reframe a traditional spirit for the modern era”.

The Nonino family were honored for their merits to the “Bar culture”.
The prize was awarded on the occasion of the falstaff Bar & Spirit Festival, where the best of the bar scene and the spirits industry met, transforming the Vienna Hofburg into the world’s largest cocktail bar.

(…)The Nonino family constantly focuses its efforts on the culture of bars and restaurants at the highest levels, having now created with its products several milestones. Grappa Monovitigno introduced in 1973 – obtained, as the name suggests, from a single vine variety – has revolutionized the culture of digestives; Amaro offers new perspectives when it comes to aperitifs, which are so fashionable in Italy. “Cocktails for the joy of the palate and the spirit”, this is the creed of the Noninos, who in the meantime have extended their range of products well beyond just Grappa, inspiring internationally renowned mixologists to create new cocktails.”

Wine Star Award appoints Grappa Nonino “Best Distillery in the world 2019”.
The prize, created by Wine Enthusiast which has now reached the twentieth edition, honors the people and the companies that in the world of Wine & Spirits have achieved exceptional results.

The awarding ceremony will take place of January 27th 2020, for the first time at the monumental Palace of Fine Arts.

The Nonino family flies to San Francisco!

On January 27, at the prestigious Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the Nonino family, once more, marked the history of grappa. Nonino Distillatori is the first grappa brand and the first Italian distillery to be awarded with the most important acknowledgement of the Wines&Spirit sector: the Wine Star Awards by Wine Enthusiast.

Migliore Distilleria Del Mondo 2019,
Giannola Nonino with Elisabetta and Francesca, representing three generations of the Family’s artisan distillers, deeply moved, received the prize “Spirit Brand/ Distillery of the year” awarded to Nonino “for their vision of redesigning a traditional distillate for the modern era”.

Gran Riserva 27 Years Nonino
1st Italian distillate to receive
100 points at the Spirit Trophy by Falstaff
In the history of the competition only two other spirits have reached the highest score: Appleton Estate Rum Aged 30 Years and Cognac Remy Martin Louis XIII

L’Aperitivo Nonino has been elected “Best Aperitif of the year 2022 international” by Meininger Awards for the second year in succession!

For the second year in a row, the ultimate recommendation in bitters is Nonino. If Amaro Nonino Quintessentia® had triumphed at the Ultimate Spirit Challenge in 2021, this year Amaro Nonino Quintessentia® Riserva has enchanted the judges of the world’s most prestigious spirits competition.
Amaro Nonino Riserva is described in this way:
“Strong notes of eau-de-vie are wrapped up in toasted spice aromatics of dried blood orange peel, sandalwood, and cassia bark. On the palate, this is quite dry, with notes of kola nut, pine, and orange liqueur. The finish is wonderfully complex and long”.

Also in 2022 Nonino is at the 1st place of the Falstaff Spirits Trophy, but this year the category “Grappa” is joined also by the “Amari/Bitter/Aperitifs” one. The first among Grappas “Gran Riserva Grappa Cru Monovitigno® Picolit aged 10 years in Ex Sauternes Barriques”. ”Amaro Nonino Quintessentia® Riserva 24 months triumphs in “Amari/Bitter/Aperitifs”

1973_2023 THE GRAPPA REVOLUTION: MOVITIGNO® NONINO CELEBRATES 50 YEARS

“…from Cinderella to Queen…”

To share the magic of our family’s art of distillation, we have decided to transform the Phial that has always contained our Grappa Cru Monovitigno^® Picolit into a still: a serpentine that connects two dates 1973-2023 and from which a drop comes out, that same drop of Grappa Picolit which, as soon as it flowed on December 1, 1973, made Giannola shout “Benito, Benito we have made it”! In that drop she had found the scents of quinces and acacia honey… the emotion she had felt in the vineyards she had chosen!

L’Aperitivo Nonino BotanicalDrink for the third year in a row is
‘Aperitif of the Year 2023 international’

Here is the motivation:
‘Quality prevails, amazingly for the third consecutive time! The title holder remains the international leader, and certainly not for lack of top-notch competition. Floral freshness, together with a slight bitterness and a pleasant sensation that satisfies and fills the palate, characterize the Nonino grappa experts’ aperitif. Dolce Vita par excellence!’

On June 1 in Lugano, in a sold-out evening organized by ATED and supported by Ander Group and Corriere del Ticino, Francesca, better known as the “grappa influencer,” was the first woman to receive the award “DIGITAL NIGHT – Talents revolutionizing the digital world.”

Nonino Gran Riserva Grape Distillate Monovitigno^® Merlot Aged 12 Years wins the Platinum Award by Wine Hunter Excellence 2023.
Our Grappa Monovitigno^® da Prosecco Riserva 24 months in barriques and small casks and Grappa Nonino Vendemmia Riserva obtain 5 GRAPPOLI BIBENDA, the top score!

On the stage of the International Bartenders Association IBA world cocktail competition we brought all our energy, all our history and all the love we feel for Grappa in front of an audience of 600 bartenders from all over the world! 50 years ago Giannola and Benito, creating the first Grappa Monovitigno®, transformed the Italian pomace distillate from Cinderella to a Queen of spirits, completely revolutionizing the category! A Revolution that continues, making the versatility of Grappa more and more known in mixology. #BEBRAVEMIXGRAPPA!

In Rome at Palazzo Piacentini in via Veneto, the headquarters of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, the exhibition “Identitalia the Iconic Italian brand” dedicated to the most important brands that have made and are making the history of our country was inaugurated. We are happy and honored that the Ministry of Made in Italy wanted our family to represent Grappa and its history at this exhibition. It’s a wonderful recognition of our work as distillers. A few decades ago, Grappa was considered a raw, poor product, but today it is the distillate that represents the excellence of the Made in Italy in the world. And all this because two Friulian distillers, Giannola and Benito Nonino, decided to go against the custom of distilling pomace from white and red grapes mixed together, creating on December 1, 1973 the first Grappa Monovitigno® in history, Picolit Cru Nonino. We hope that it can be seen as a beautiful example of how working with commitment and passion makes everything possible, including transforming Grappa “from Cinderella to a Queen” of spirits.

Giannola and Benito honorary citizens of San Giorgio della Richinvelda! We are happy and moved to see our commitment and love for our Friuli recognized by the new generations. In 1975 we established the Nonino Risit d’Aur Prize – gold vine shoot – with the aim of saving, promoting and having the native Friulian vine varieties in danger of extinction officially recognized by national and community bodies (Schioppettino, Pignolo and Tazzelenghe later joined by Ribolla Gialla). Those were times in which talking about the rural civilization was not fashionable, the contrary, but as we wanted to distil Grappa Monovitigno^® from these vine varieties we had no choice but to protect them and ask for community recognition because due to an absurd law they had become illegal. Today, seeing that they are the flagships of Friulian viticulture we are filled us with joy! This citizenship is particularly significant for us, because San Giorgio della Richinvelda is the municipality of Rauscedo, the home of cooperative nurseries and capital of the Barbatella (vine-shoot)!

Farina Nonino – Green Spot
“Farina Nonino – Green Spot” is a project that has its roots in the tradition of the land of Friuli and faces the future with a visionary spirit and attention to social issues and the environment. This innovative idea that still gives life to grappa was born from the meeting between Ninna Granucci, a researcher of Italian-Brazilian origins operating in France, the Nonino family and Stefano Cercelletta, of the non-profit association ReGeneration Hub Friuli, who connected and coordinated the work of Ninna Granucci, Antonella Nonino and Massimiliano Sabinot.
Ninna Granucci, from the Green Spot startup, in love with Nonino Grappa, has created an innovative gluten-free flour with the family’s pomace thanks to a new fermentation process (5 patents), managing to obtain a flour that maintains the important nutritional properties of pomace while harmonizing the flavor of the Nonino pomace of white and red grapes. The “Farina Nonino – Green Spot” flour is a “food ingredient” and has no limitations in use. The up cycling process has the advantage of obtaining, in addition to a product with high nutritional value, also an increase in yield and a reduction in production and environmental costs with lower energy consumption.

It all happened in a while; it seems like yesterday that we were little girls with our parents in the distillery: Grappa is such a part of our lives that it has become a member of the family, a fourth sister. 
And today, after all the love we have put into making Grappa known and appreciated, we are taken as an example of entrepreneurial merit by the prestigious Guido Carli Prize, now in its fifteenth edition.
We have found a way to safeguard and defend the Grappa revolution, the creation of the first Monovitigno® Grappa, born with our Mother and Father, Giannola and Benito Nonino, on December 1st 1973, and to add our part to this unbelievable story that we call Nonino.
With the strength of a passion handed down from generation to generation and which has become ours, we have opened new markets, made the Nonino Prize grow, believed in forgotten products and created new distillates, paving the way for what will be the future of Italian spirits: Grappa in cocktails!
We are proud, happy and excited by this acknowledgement, which reconfirms a tradition that has been alive for 127 years and which regenerates and renews itself.
Because tradition does not mean honoring the ashes, but keeping the flame alive.
Thank you!

About the Guido Carli Prize 
The Guido Carli Prize, which bears the name of the former governor of the Bank of Italy and former Minister of the Treasury, is awarded every year to personalities who have distinguished themselves for their social commitment and their successes in the entrepreneurial field, as well as for giving prestige to Italian talent and genius in the world.
The special bronze medal, minted by the Polygraphic Institute, is awarded by the jury of the Prize, composed by CEOs, top managers, entrepreneurs and publishers.
For this extraordinary edition, which marks its fifteen years of history, on May 10th in the Sinopoli room of the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, “We will celebrate intelligence and creativity, passion and generosity, taste and elegance. On the stage there will be deeply moved women and men who offer powerful role models to the new generations”, declared President Romana Liuzzo.

Isi Benini Award to Giannola Nonino, ambassador of Friuli in the World
“This Prize takes me back to the early years of Grappa maker when Benito and I selected the best Friulian winemakers, with the most beautiful and prestigious Picolit vineyards, to distill the pomace and create – on December 1, 1973 – the “First Grappa Monovitigno®“, starting the Nonino Grappa Revolution.
With the Creation of the Duchy of Friulian Wines, the unforgettable and irreplaceable Isi Benini – initially “skeptical” towards our Revolution – later became one of our staunchest supporters, also regarding the Nonino Prize, of which he was the charismatic Presenter.
And today with the honor of this Prize that you award us, I want to remember how the Grappa Revolution, the creation of Monovitigno® Nonino, is a story made of family, search for absolute quality, love for one’s origins, but also of friendships with wonderful people whose work has been vitally inspiring.
Thank you Isi Benini and thank you, thank you, thank you all: we are proud to be Ambassadors of Our Friuli in the World!”
Giannola and the Big Nonino Family

Francesca nominated “the 2024 Future 40 Honorees” selected by Wine Enthusiast!
We are thrilled to announce that Wine Enthusiast, the main reference company for international wine and spirits, has selected our Francesca in the important and short list of professionals who deserve to be recognized for their innovative contribution in the beverage sector. Among these 40 pioneers, talents, educators and trendsetters who with their work have shaped the panorama of wine, spirits and beverages, Francesca has been chosen in 45 years as the first and only one in the grappa category.

5 Gold Medals at The Wine Hunter Awards

The acknowledgement, awarded by 14 commissions chaired by Helmut Köcher of the Merano Wine Festival, evaluated over 8,000 wines and 500 products in the Spirits & Food categories. All the Nonino products presented obtained the maximum score: Gold.

The awarded products are:

• ÙE® Grape Distillate Uvabianca
• Grappa Nonino Vendemmia
• Grappa Nonino Vendemmia Riserva
• Grappa Prosecco Riserva 24 months
• ÙE® Grape Distillate aged 5 years

These spirits have won over the committees for their pleasantness, elegance, bouquet, fullness, complexity and uniqueness.

We celebrate with joy and pride our Elisabetta, named by Forbes Italia among the 100 successful managers, the women and men who with innovative, digital and sustainability-focused leadership are leading their companies towards the new challenges of the future.
Long live Elisabetta, long live our CEO!