Distilleria Romano Levi

A legendary name in Piedmont, Romano Levi is widely regarded as one of the best grappa producers in all of Italy. The Levi family boasts three centuries of grappa-making experience in the Alpine valleys of San Giacomo, although the Romano Levi label was established in 1945.

In Fraciscio di Campodolcino, there is still the ancestral home of Levi, called “Casa degli Angeli” (House of Angels) because all the heads of the families that lived there were called Angelo, like the grandfather of Romano and Lidia. Perhaps it is not entirely accidental that, when Veronelli found out about Romano, he called him the “Grappaiol’angelico (The angelic Grappa distiller).”

Serafino Levi married Teresina Balbo and two children were born from the marriage, Lidia and Romano. In 1925, he chose to settle in Neive, land of great wines and where pomace of the highest quality was available, here he founded his direct fire distillery. Serafino died young in 1933, leaving two small children and his wife, who continued to run the distillery. But she too was marked by a tragic fate, she died during an air raid in 1945. Romano Levi was then 17 years old and a student at Alba. He decided to quit his studies and, with the help of his sister Lidia, continued distillation.

The distillery of Romano Levi is a living museum of grappa production. Grappa is produced using high-quality pomace, different essences of wood and long aging of the grappa, and what is thought to be the only open-fire alembic still that exists in Italy. The house’s flagship Grappa di Barolo is made from selected marc of Nebbiolo grapes used to produce Barolo red wine. This peerless grappa is matured for at least four years in acacia barrels before release. In addition to straight grappas, the Levi family produces exquisite versions flavoured with Piedmontese botanicals. Their production is so low they cannot meet the demand from all over the world. So savour what you can get, or wait patiently and try again.