Villa De Varda

Villa De Varda is a distillery in Trentino, in the north of Italy, run by the Dolzan family. Its home ground is wine country, and most of what it makes starts with grapes rather than grain.

The house is known above all for grappa, distilled from the pomace left after winemaking. Many bottlings are single-grape, so a buyer meets names such as Teroldego, Pinot Nero, Chardonnay and Gewurztraminer Riserva, along with aged expressions like the Dolzan Riserva and the Moscato Stravecchia.

The range also takes in older and more unusual spirits, including the Aguavite Di Vino 1975, the Amarone Riserva and the herbal Elixir Sancti Vigili, plus liqueurs such as Limoncino. The Inquota bottlings, with an Amarone Cask Finish and a Dolomiti Spruce Cask Finish, are the ones whisky drinkers are most likely to come across.

Buyers coming from Scotch should expect a different spirit: grape-based, fragrant and often fruity, rather than malted barley. These are official bottlings from the distillery itself.