Many years ago, during my first visit to Italy, and perhaps overly influenced by the memoirs of Italo Calvino, I was enormously impressed by those men who would start their days by standing at the polished brass bar of their neighborhood cafe, there to drink a glass of the brandy known as grappa even before they would have their first cup of coffee. It took several weeks to work up my courage, but one morning in Bologna I made the plunge and started my day with such a ritual.
I would never have admitted it then, but can now confess that my head was in a fog for the entire day that followed. I had no idea during those early days that the grappa adored by most Italians and served in the most popular cafes and bars in the country could be so absolutely vile. Fortunately, especially considering its increasing world-wide popularity, there are also some very good examples of grappa to be found.
"Grappa" is the Italian term for any brandy that is made from the residue of grape skins, stalks and seeds that have been left over after the grapes have been pressed to make wines. After this mass has been fermented it is matured in oak barrels to give it color and, with luck, a bit of flavor and finesse. Known in France as "marc" (don't pronounce the "c"), in Portugal as "bagaciera" and in Spain and most of South America as "aguardiente", most of this brandy is made by growers for their private consumption. Even though the poorer examples of these brandies are fiery, raw and highly alcoholic, Frenchmen, Italians and knowledgeable tourists have always enjoyed making pilgrimages, traveling from village to village in search of the best marc to be found.
During the course of my own travels, for example, I never hesitate to sample twenty, thirty or more different forms of grappa or marc until I find the one bottle worth bringing home from any particular trip. About a decade ago, Italian grappa became the rage among sophisticates and would-be sophisticates in the United States. About six years ago, the habit began to catch on locally, and nearly every restaurateur and bar owner now has at least one or two of these brandies on hand for their clients.
If there has been anything at all "odd" about my continued devotion to grappa and marc it has been that over many years I have never seen a woman sidle up to a Parisian, Lyonaise, Tuscan or Piemontese bar to start her day with a glass of this stuff. For reasons I know not, perhaps of cultural or social habit, perhaps because of genetic differences that determine the level and type of pain we find pleasurable, women seem not to be attracted to this beverage. Whether the habit has come to be considered too macho or too vulgar escapes me, but with only two notable exceptions, my daughter and a dear friend named Debbie, I have never found women to share this habit with me.
In buying grappa or marc during one's travels in Europe, it is worth remembering that the best examples can be found in the most unexpected places. Although several large French negotiants, such as Bouchard Pere e Fils and Louis Latour produce carefully aged commercial versions, the very best marc and grappa is still to be found at farmhouses, at small wineries and in the bars of small, frequently out of the way villages. When driving along the country roads of France and Italy it is not unusual to see small signs nailed to a tree announcing that a farmer is offering some of his brandy for sale. In such cases it is perfectly appropriate to stop, exchange a few pleasantries and sample a small glass before deciding whether to purchase a bottle or not. Purchases are never required, but whatever your reaction, it is considered good manners to compliment the farmer (or more likely his wife who is selling it) on the quality of the beverage they have made. In country bars that sell grappa or marc by the bottle you will also be given a small glass to sample. If, after having tasted, you decide to buy a bottle, the glass you were given will be "on the house", but if you do not buy you will be expected to pay for the glass you drank.
In my opinion, the very best examples of grappa come from the regions of Tuscany, Lombardy and Umbria and the best marc tends to come from Burgundy, Cognac and Champagne. Marc de Champagne, which is made in Epernay and Reims is probably the most elegant version of this particular brandy and its slightly fruity taste makes it quite reminiscent of Champagne. Equally good is Marc de Borgogne, and even though this brandy lacks the finesse and delicacy of Cognac, it has a distinctive character of its own and many who make it are so proud of their products that the labels of their products often carry the name of a specific vineyard.
There is one version of marc that I suggest avoiding. It is the small farms in Normandy that produce the great apple brandy known as Calvados. Unfortunately, in order not to waste the "leftovers" many farmers use the apple peels and pits that are left over after the juice has been squeezed out to produce a brandy known as "eau- de-vie de marc de cidre". Even the most dedicated Francophiles are extremely careful when it comes to this beverage. With an alcoholic content that often exceeds 70%, this is surely one of the most coarse and most potent of all alcoholic beverages produced anywhere. In addition to searing the throat as it is swallowed this stuff is so powerful that it will leave a burning sensation in the stomach and intestines that can linger for many uncomfortable hours. In fact, this brandy is so potent that when you stroll through the streets of Paris' Latin Quarter and see a young man take a mouthful of liquid and then spit it out in a fine flaming spray, it is probably with this highly inflammable liquid that he has chosen to play his dangerous games.
The pleasures of marc are probably best summed up by George Orwell who "lusted for it when I needed a kick in the stomach to get me started on bad mornings". And, in the off chance that you have been overly influenced by American yuppies who perceive grappa as a status symbol, remember Italo Calvino's warning that this was the beverage that was "suitable only for defrocked priests, unemployed bookkeepers and husbands that have been cuckolded"
As to the more sophisticated grappas that are being produced the world over today, some by very respectable wineries indeed, those smooth, soft, full of flavor and without a hint of burning in either the throat, the esophagus or the stomach, well, I refer to those as grappa for ladies and gentlemen. Most definitely not the real thing!
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Daniel Rogov is the Wine and Food Critic of HaAretz newspaper in Israel. He is also the author of Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines and a regular contributor to Tom Stevenson's Wine Report and Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book. His wine and gastronomy internet site and forum can be found at http://www.stratsplace.com/rogov/home.html
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