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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Who invented Grappa? Italians!
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 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.
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
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.
The "Grappateca", a unique collection
The Poli Grappa Museum houses the "Grappateca" the largest known collection of Grappas in Italy.
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.
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
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.
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.
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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