The world of sommeliers and liqueur tasters is turning more and more pink and the sphere of grappas is no exception, considered in the past a predominantly male niche. Anag, the national association of grappa and brandy tasters, took care of breaking down any prejudice, which ranks a significant female presence among the corporate bodies renewed in May. Starting with the national president, Paola Soldi, passing through the treasurer Marirosa Gioda (also at the top of the territorial area of Piedmont), to get to Annalisa Vio, appointed referent of the Anag Liguria. Not an easy task given that the Ligurian section, after having long been incorporated into the Piedmontese one (after all, the territory of Liguria does not host grappa distilleries) was refounded only a few years ago, in 2017, by Vittorio Frabetti, who then died prematurely. in 2019. La Vio, graduated in philosophy of which she is also a teacher and graduated in piano, however, starts with some cards in her favor. For example, that of managing, together with her husband Raja Saeed, a native of Kashmir, two adjacent rooms in the historic center of Genoa: the Taverna Zaccaria (whose walls date back to the Middle Ages), devoted mainly to wines, cocktails and liqueurs, and the restaurant Mandrake, with an offer that ranges from Ligurian specialties to Kashmiri dishes.
«Both my husband and I have always had a passion for good drinking and over the years we have organized various events related to food and wine. At one point I felt I had a gap on grappas: I needed a deeper knowledge of the sector. So we both enrolled in the Anag courses and got our diplomas with a ceremony that took place in our premises ». Vio goes on to explain that she joined the association «in the first year of Anag’s return to Liguria, after having participated in the course organized by Frabetti. Thanks to Anag, I was able to get to know the world of grappa and spirits up close and I became so passionate about it, participating in tastings and visits to distilleries, that I also took a second level diploma. With Zaccaria and Mandragola I then began to try combinations and mixology experiments (cocktails with grappa base, ed), a sector that Frabetti intended to develop ».
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In 2019 a further turning point arrives: “after having completed and passed the selection tests to be part of the jury (only to apply it is necessary to have passed the two taster exams and obtained the license, ed) – says Vio – I was able to participate, as a representative of Liguria, in the selection of the Alambicco d’oro award », an event promoted by Anag to reward the best Italian grappas, spirits and brandies. «It was the first time – continues Vio – that Liguria was represented at the Alambicco d’oro and I was the only Ligurian woman to pass the tests to be part of the jury. Then Covid arrived but I continued to immerse myself in the associative world and to get to know many territorial realities. I established an excellent feeling, for example, with the sections of Sicily and Piedmont. This latter region is home to legendary grappa companies such as Mazzetti d’Altavilla. Now I will be, with enthusiasm and determination, the territorial referent for Liguria, in the memory of Frabetti. Without him the Anag in Liguria would not exist and I probably would not have continued on this path ».
Among the objectives to be achieved, concludes Vio, «I have that of creating a competition, to be held in the autumn, for grappa cocktails. But I have also set up a prize, named after Frabetti, which will be awarded for the first time in July, to reward those who have played an important role, be they individuals or companies, to enhance grappa. The 2021 award will go to the Maffone estate, a winery in Acquetico (Imperia) that has created a grappa from Ormeasco that has won the 2019 Golden Still “.