Feminine spirit

Feminine spirit
Vino
Magazine: March 2008

Livia Bertagnol has been active in the family distillery for 25 years. Nowadays she devotes herself mainly to sales and marketing but has been involved in everything in the company, from production to logistics. Below on the right, Anna Marzadro

Traditional, truly Italian and always more “ladylike”. Grappa is on a learning curve as far as taste and consumption is concerned. The spirit has slowly but surely shaken off its image as a rough and invigorating highly alcoholic drink with a lower-class image. A high quality artesian production has slowly peeled away the B series, high-proof liquor label. Behind a single name, there are traditions that have contributed to raise the profile and change the perception and consumption of a drink that has refined its taste. With almost 10 degrees less, the rough flavour has mellowed and grappa has established itself as a product suitable for convivial occasions, attracting a discerning female public. From an alcoholic product almost exclusively aimed at a male target, grappa is now an accredited choice.

Reminiscences and passion
Women in the world of grappa, apart from the true alembics, are on the increase. Guiding them all is a solid bond with their family of origin from which they have inherited the profession and the love for the land. In fact, the fascination of grappa is right there: in the land, the gestures and perfumes that the crystalline liquid is capable of evoking. «I have memories of that intense grappa aroma that pervaded every ambient », reveals Livia Bertagnolli. Since 1976 she has been alongside her father in the award winning Distilleria G. Bertagnolli and is owner of the company since 1982. «It sums up family and wonderful emotions». Women’s inroad into the world of grappa was not always so rosy, for a very long time it was an all male domain. Still, with a good dose of hard work, preconceived barriers have been dismantled and today’s situation is based on equality. For both sexes the attribute of appreciation is foremost. For women, a remarkable sense of pleasure whilst narrating emotions awoken by the spirit and its world is all prevailing. «The distillery is a magical place, when the light reflects off the copper alembics», affirms Anna Marzadro, head of marketing and communication in the Marzadro distillery. «Most of all when tasting the grappa there is the pleasure of it lingering on the palate». Another sign that grappa is also female, comes from a national association dedicated to those who work with the distillate but also with the consumers. Set up in 2001, “Donne della Grappa” reunites 300 members of entrepreneurs, distillers, journalists and enthusiasts.