Distilleria Bepi Tosolini

Founder and first distillery

The family story begins with Bepi Tosolini, born in 1918. He founded his first small distillery in Friuli in 1943, a few kilometres from Venice. At the time, grappa retained the humble identity of a product rooted in Friulian rural life. Bepi nevertheless believed that it could become an internationally recognised spirit and devoted his working life to that ambition.

Expansion in Udine

During the 1950s, Bepi built a new distillery in the centre of Udine and established what was described as Italy’s largest grappa cellar, equipped with ash-wood casks. His wife, Giovanna, worked beside him in the management of the business, including long days and nights at the distillery, while Bepi travelled throughout Italy to introduce and sell the family’s grappa.

In 1955, Bepi designed botanical stills that later remained in use for the distillery’s small-batch liqueur production.

Povoletto and the second generation

In 1973, the family opened the larger distillery at Povoletto. Despite the increase in scale, its equipment retained the traditional approach: artisanal pot stills heated by steam, subsequently accompanied by bain-marie stills. By then Bepi’s eldest son, Giovanni, had already been working in the business for several years. He continued his father’s approach to production and helped expand the family enterprise around the values of respect, goodwill and honesty.

Most® and further development

During the 1980s, Bepi created Most®, an acquavite made by distilling fermented must from whole, high-quality Friulian grapes. The juice and skins ferment together; the must is double-distilled within days of pressing to retain the character of freshly harvested grapes and young wine. The spirit can mature slowly in neutral vessels or fine woods.

In 2001, Giovanni installed two bain-marie stills alongside his father’s equipment. He named them “Giuseppe” and “Giovanna,” using the new stills to develop his own expression of the family’s distilling craft.

Third and fourth generations

Bepi’s grandchildren Giuseppe, Bruno and Lisa work together in the distillery founded by their grandfather. They represent the third generation carrying forward the family enterprise, while the family narrative already looks toward a fourth generation. The original equipment and later additions now form a working collection of 13 stills adapted to different methods and styles of grappa.

Grape growing is not presented as an estate activity. The Tosolini family personally selects grapes and pomace in vineyards, particularly in Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli. Selection focuses on ripe, intact grapes free of stalks and on fresh, moist, aromatic skins. Pomace is handled carefully and distilled within days of harvest rather than preserved, because freshness is treated as essential to retaining the harvest’s fruit and fragrance. Grape skins undergo hand selection before distillation.

Raw-material selection

The Tosolini Method begins with grapes selected directly by the family, especially in Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli. Grapes must be ripe, intact and free of stalks. Gentle, slow pressing produces the “noble” or flower must used for Most® and leaves moist, aromatic pomace for grappa. Approximately 100 kg of grapes yields 25 kg of moist pomace, from which about three bottles of grappa are obtained.

Grappa is made from freshly pressed grape skins still carrying juice and aroma. Pomace is hand-selected, kept fresh and distilled within a few days of harvest; the stills operate day and night during this period. The distillery’s principle is to avoid preserving pomace because immediate processing better protects its fruit character.

Most® uses whole grapes: juice and skins ferment together to create the noble must. Fermented must is distilled within a few days of pressing. It undergoes double distillation in traditional steam-heated Charentais stills built by Bepi Tosolini, with the aim of retaining the aromas of the harvest and young wine.

Production timetable

The full cycle from vineyard to bottle is described as more than two years of artisanal work. Grape maturation occupies approximately six months and the harvest period approximately two months. Gentle pressing lasts about four hours. Pomace ferments for five days, during which its sugar becomes alcohol and it becomes ready for distillation.

Distillation takes approximately two hours in traditional, manually operated Friulian steam pot stills. A further two-hour cut allows the master distiller to separate heads, heart and tails. Heads and tails are discarded; only the heart becomes Tosolini grappa.

After distillation, grappa is held for 24 hours at −18 °C and filtered to remove impurities. The illustrated production sequence assigns 12–18 months to maturation in barriques or stainless-steel vessels, with an Italian-language version presenting 18 months as the representative duration.

Stills and manual control

The distillery operates 13 stills representing different distillation systems and grappa styles. The equipment includes Charentais stills, traditional Friulian caldaiette and the bain-marie stills “Giuseppe” and “Giovanna,” installed by Giovanni in 2001. Steam and bain-marie distillation are manually controlled, run slowly and at deliberately limited throughput.

Charentais equipment is used to obtain pure, aromatic spirits. The Friulian caldaiette provide the traditional steam-distillation method, while the bain-marie stills support other expressions of the family craft. Separate botanical steam stills designed by Bepi in 1955 are used for small-batch liqueur production.

Cellar maturation

Grappa is first refined in stainless-steel tanks and may then be aged in vessels of different sizes and woods. Barrique grappa receives a minimum of 12 months: six months in cask followed by six months in barrique. “Grappa invecchiata” matures for 12–18 months in large casks, while “Grappa riserva” exceeds 18 months in casks of varying capacity. Barriques may have light, medium or heavy toast, selected according to the desired intensity of wood influence.

All cellar ageing is kept under customs-authority control and seal. Slow maturation is also used for Most®, in neutral containers or selected woods.

Liqueur production

Liqueurs are produced in small batches with manual operations. Fruits, herbs, spices and citrus ingredients are selected for their aromatic properties and infused in small stainless-steel tanks. Distillation takes place manually in the 1955 botanical stills. Bottling is also performed by hand, and the production rhythm follows seasonal availability. The Spezieria range is based on natural ingredients and family recipes, without added artificial flavourings or colours.