Nonino - Spirit Brand / Distiller of the Year 2019 - Wine Enthusiast

Nonino Spirit Brand / distiller of the Year 2019 20th Anniversary Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards
 

Last night, on 27 January 2020, the Nonino Distillery from Percoto was crowned the "Spirit Brand / Distiller of the Year 2019” at the Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards. This occasion was even more special because the world’s most important international Wine & Spirits award celebrated its 20th anniversary at the iconic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.

For the first time ever, three Nonino generations were overseas together. Giannola Nonino, accompanied by her daughter Elisabetta and granddaughter Francesca, received the prize awarded with the following motivation by Kara Newman, spirits editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine: "Although the Nonino distillery originated in 1897, its story didn’t truly begin until the 1970s, when Benito Nonino and his wife Giannola started to produce high-quality, single-varietal Monovitigno® grappas. Giannola in particular helped turn around grappa’s rustic, fiery image. As she said, she longed to turn grappa from a Cinderella into a Queen [...] with energy, courage, and a revolutionary vision, emphasizing their ability to redesign a traditional distillate for the modern era [...] represents the best of Made in Italy."

It is the crowning achievement of a challenge that began on December 1, 1973, when Benito and Giannola decided to commit themselves to absolute excellence, revolutionizing the consumers’ overall opinion and changing the image of a traditional product, which was considered a poor person’s drink, suited to keep farmers warm in winter.

Thanks to this couple, grappa was able to reach the quality and the prestige of the best foreign distillates and, finally, get recognition by Italian and foreign consumers. From Cinderella to a Queen in the Olympus of the great spirits in the world!

“It is the first time an Italian distillery receives this award and the fact that it’s a grappa distillery fills our heart with such pride and joy because it shows us that anything is possible when you combine passion, excellent ingredients, innovation and a resilient spirit. We are a family of distillers from a small village in Italy, and we have been able to transform grappa from something that was perceived as a simple, low -quality product to an artisanal spirit. Our life goal has been achieved.

 Whether we are speaking about our Grappa, Amaro or the new Aperitif, there is one common thread - the language of passion. Passion does not have a nationality; it speaks to everybody and touches everyone who listens. This language has drawn Nobel Prize laureates, entrepreneurs, scientists and personalities from all over the world to a small village of about 1,500 inhabitants in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Percoto because they want to learn about Nonino.

This award has taught us that the love, passion, and energy you put in your job today will be well worth it tomorrow”, states Elisabetta.

 The many guests and the other prestigious prize winners, such as director Francis Ford Coppola –“Lifetime Achievement Award” – and musician Jon Bon Jovi –“Wine and Culture Award” – and the Italian-American importers Tony and Bill Terlato, who represent Nonino in the USA, raised their glasses of Grappa Nonino Cru Monovitigno® Picolit, with L'Aperitivo BotanicalDrink and Amaro Nonino Quintessentia® on the rocks . Alla tua salute!