2024-07-08 08:50:31
UDINE. He died last night Benito Nonino, the man who transformed grappa from a tavern liqueur into a refined product. He was 90 years old, and, together with his wife, Giannola, he had turned the small family business that produced “sgnapa” into a brand known throughout the world. Benito Nonino died right in his company home in Percoto (Udine), the town where he was born on February 6, 1934.
Benito and Giannola, an inseparable couple, have three daughters, Antonella, Cristina and Elisabetta who work in the company, as well as some granddaughters. Passionate about the distillery since he was a child, in 1973 he made the first grappa “Monovitigno Picolit”. A shy but active man, forced to be in a wheelchair for some time, even yesterday afternoon he asked to be taken to the distillery.
Over time and with the growth of the brand nationally and internationally, Benito and Giannola created the eponymous Nonino Prize, which has a jury of high international cultural level and which over the years has awarded over five writers who would later receive the Nobel Prize.
2024-07-08 08:50:31