Short story about grappa

Grappa is a fragrant grape based brandy of between 37.5% and 60%  alcohol , of italian origin. It was originally made to prevent waste by using leftovers at the end of the wine season. A similar drink, known as “prima uva “ ( first grape) is made with the whole grapes. The taste of grappa, like that of wines depends on the type and quality of the grape used as well as the specifics of the distillation process.

Grappa is now a protected name in the EU, just like Barolo wine and Parmigiano cheese. To be called grappa, the following criteria must be met:
(1) Produced in Italy.
(2) Produced from pomace.
(3) The fermentation and distillation must occur on the pomace. No water can be added.

Criterion 2 rules out the direct use of fermentation of pure grape juice, which is the method used to produce brandy.

Criterion 3 has two important implications. First, the distillation must occur on solids. Thus it is carried out not with a direct flame but with steam; otherwise, the pomace may burn. Second, the woody parts of the grapes such as stems and seeds are co-fermented with the sugar-rich juice, producing wood alcohol which is toxic. This part must be be removed first during distillation and it requires care and skills. In fact, this is why now there is an Italian law requiring winemakers to sell their pomace to grappa makers; even if moonshine operations will never completely disappear, they are now very rare.

Grappa was originally made in the northern Italian town of Bassano del Grappa and some contend that this is the origin of the name, rather than from the Latin graspa.
In Italy grappa is primarily served as a  after-dinner drink. Its main purpose was to aid in the digestion of heavy meals. Grappa may also be added to coffee to create a caffe corretto meaning corrected coffee. In the Veneto, there is resentin: after finishing a cup of espresso with sugar, a few drops of grappa are poured into the nearly empty cup, swirled and drunk down in one sip.

Most grappa is clear, indicating that it is an un-aged distillate, though some may retain very faint pigments from their original fruit pomace. Lately, aged grappa have become more common, and these take on a yellow, or red-brown hue from the barrels in which they are stored.