Poli Grappa Museum

The Poli family's tribute to Grappa, the quintessential Italian spirit

POLI Grappa Museum - The ancient Mobile Still (1850/1850)Museimpresa

Welcome to the Poli Grappa Museum!
The result of a long and passionate research, it represents Poli's act of gratitude towards Grappa, the authentic Italian distillate obtained from grape marc.

With more than 150,000 visitors a year, the two Poli Grappa Museums are among the most popular and visited Corporate Museums in Italy.

POLI Grappa Museum - Jacopo Poli and his wife CristinaMuseimpresa

The birth of the Museum

The first location of the Museum was founded in Bassano del Grappa on 4 July 1993 by Jacopo Poli and his wife Cristina, with the aim of promoting the history and, of course, the taste of this unique distillate.

POLI Grappa Museum - The entrance to the museum, Bassano del Grappa locationMuseimpresa

An enchanting frame for a charming Spirit

The Poli Grappa Museum in Bassano is located in front of the historic Ponte Vecchio, the city's landmark bridge designed in 1569 by Andrea Palladio.

POLI Grappa Museum - View of the city of Bassano del Grappa and the Old BridgeMuseimpresa

Why Bassano del Grappa?

Considered the “capital” of Grappa, this suggestive town is located in the heart of Veneto, the most renowned region for the production of this distillate, not far from Venice, at the foot of a mountain called “Monte Grappa”.

How does the word "Grappa" relate to the mountain of the same name?

POLI Grappa Museum - The “Library of the Spirit”Museimpresa

The “Library of the Spirit”

A collection of about 1,600 ancient and modern books related to Grappa and the art of distillation, called the "Library of the Spirit", is the main material from which the Poli Grappa Museum was born.

POLI Grappa Museum - The first book about distillation in history (1500/1500) by Hieronymus BrunschwighMuseimpresa

The first book about distillation in history

Among the most important texts is Hieronymus Brunschwigh's “Liber de arte distillandi” (“Kleines Destillierbuch”), dated 8 May 1500, the very rare first book in history to deal with distillation.

POLI Grappa Museum - A journey through the art of distillationMuseimpresa

A journey through the art of distillation

At the Poli Grappa Museum in Bassano you can admire the evolution of the art of distillation enclosed in five suggestive rooms. It also houses the most complete collection of mignon Grappa bottles known in Italy (about 1,500 pieces from 323 distilleries) and the “Olfactometers”.

POLI Grappa Museum - View of Poli Distillerie and Poli Grappa Museum in SchiavonMuseimpresa

Poli Distillerie and Poli Grappa Museum in Schiavon

In 2011 the second location of the Poli Grappa Museum was opened, right next to the distillery, in Schiavon, a small town on the road from Vicenza to Bassano del Grappa.

POLI Grappa Museum - Alembics and Grappa production methodsMuseimpresa

Alembics and Grappa production methods

The "Distillation Plants" room shows the different types of stills used for the production of Grappa ("direct fire", "double boiler" and "flowing steam") and allows visitors to understand the characteristics of traditional and industrial methods for the distillation of marc.

Discovering the alembic by Lonicero

POLI Grappa Museum - The ancient Mobile Still (1850/1850)Museimpresa

The ancient Mobile Still

One of the highlights of the Museum is the rare mid-19th century mobile still, originally used by GioBatta Poli, the founder of Poli Distillerie. Some time later, for fiscal reasons, mobile distillation was abolished and in 1898 GioBatta installed a permanent still.

POLI Grappa Museum - The "Grappateca", the largest collection of Grappas in ItalyMuseimpresa

The "Grappateca", a unique collection

The Poli Grappa Museum houses the "Grappateca" the largest known collection of Grappas in Italy.

POLI Grappa Museum - The "Grappateca", 2,000 bottles of Grappa from 440 companiesMuseimpresa

2,000 bottles of Grappa from 440 distilleries

In addition to the miniatures on display in Bassano del Grappa, the “Grappateca” in Schiavon also includes about 2,000 bottles of Grappa in regular-sized bottles, produced between the 1930s and the 1980s by 440 different companies, many of which have now disappeared.

POLI Grappa Museum - Single-variety Grappa (1920/1920)Museimpresa

Single-variety Grappa from the 1920s

In the early 70‘s the word “monovitigno” was coined to describe an ancient practice: the distillation of a single-variety grape marc. Among the many bottles of single-variety Grappa kept in the Museum, one deserves a special mention: the Moscato Grappa by the Gancia brothers.

Discover with Jacopo Poli the first single-variety Grappa

POLI Grappa Museum - The Historical ArchiveMuseimpresa

The Historical Archive

The Historical Archive gathers vintage commercial documents of many Italian distilleries and liquor factories, from which it is possible to draw valuable information about the market of spirits, liqueurs and vermouth up to 1960.

POLI Grappa Museum - The most ancient document (1853/1853)Museimpresa

The oldest document

The most ancient document in the Archive is dated 7 September 1853 and comes from the company “Michel, Re, Agnelli e Baudino” (Turin, Piedmont), which today is no longer in business.

POLI Grappa Museum - Guided tours of the DistilleryMuseimpresa

Guided tours of the Distillery

Poli Distillerie is the only Italian distillery listed in the famous Lonely Planet's guide as one of the top ten craft distilleries in the world to visit

It's possible to book a guided tour of the production facilities, located next to the Poli Grappa Museum in Schiavon.

We hope you enjoyed this virtual tour and look forward to welcoming you to Poli Distillerie!

Admission to the Museum is always free and the visit is self-guided.
All proceeds from the adjoining Poli shops are used to further research into the art of distillation and the origins of Grappa.

Info and reservations: info@poligrappa.com

www.poligrappa.com


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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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