Limited edition, artisan dark chocolate pralines with Grappa Riserva Triè Villa de Varda cream filling

This set of pralines is hand-made by the maître chocolatier of Villa de Varda, an artisan grappa distillery set in the Dolomite Alps. The pralines have a dark chocolate shell, and are filled with a delicate and soft Grappa Riserva Triè-infused cream.

This unique and delightful treat offers the best of both worlds: the refined bitterness of Italian dark chocolate, and the rich flavour of barrique-aged grappa.

Grappa Riserva Triè is produced from three grapes: Teroldego, Pinot Bianco and Müller Thurgau. Mauro Dolzan, the master distiller, only uses freshly-squeezed grape pulp – still wet with the juice (pictured). This is a very expensive raw material, and the resulting spirit bursts with fresh grape aromas. The spirit is diluted to 40° ABV using fresh water from the mountain glacier, just behind the village (pictured). Finally, the grappa is aged for three years in new barriques made of oak, acacia and cherry wood.

These Dark Chocolate Praline with Grappa Riserva Triè sweets are a limited edition product, only available in tiny quantities. Before, you could only find them in a few specialist shops in Switzerland, Austria and north-east Italy. Now they're available at Independent Wine.

Natural Amaretto made purely from real almonds gathered in the mountain forests of Trentino

As seen in Forbes: “This 28% alcohol amaretto is the color of bog water and golden syrup. Includes a delicious candy cane kick aroma—raisins, hibiscus, peppermint and maraschino cherries. In the mouth a chocolate mint layer cake, delicious as cotton candy and a complete dessert in itself. A complete treat.” Tom Mullen, Forbes 31.10.2021 

Villa de Varda Amaretto Liqueur is made in tiny quantities, solely from natural almond skins. Almond harvesting in the forests of Trentino is very tightly controlled by the government. Corpo Forestale dello Stato only permits people to pick miniscule amounts, to help preserve the natural ecology of the woodland. The precious nuts are harvested by hand by Villa de Varda’s small team, in the forests of Val di Non and on the Roen mountain - places of exceptional natural beauty.

Preparation

The foraged almonds are all peeled by hand. About 9-10% (by volume) of almond skins are mixed with grain spirit, and left in the maturation vessel for three months. Due to the very limited amount of wild almonds available, this production method is more exclusive. But the resulting liqueur is not only delicious, it also offers a pure natural flavour that can only come from real almonds.

In contrast, large-volume and mass-market amaretto is typically produced using apricot or peach kernels rather than pure almonds. These cheaper alternatives provide an abundant supply of benzaldehyde – the chemical responsible for the almond-like bitter taste – but are far less authentic.

Tasting note

This Villa di Varda Amaretto Liqueur is creamy and sweet, with an enchanting taste of almonds from the Alpine forests. But it offers so much more than that – a touch of elegant bitterness, flavours of dry biscotti, candied orange peel, and dry mountain herbs.