Top 10 Distilleries in Tuscany
Tuscany is famous for wine, but the same vineyards that produce Sangiovese also leave behind tons of grape pomace every autumn — and pomace is the raw material of grappa. For centuries Tuscan farmers ran small alembic stills to turn the leftover skins, seeds and stems into a clear, fiery distillate to warm the winter. Italian law has long since formalised what grappa can be: it must be distilled in Italy from the pomace of Italian grapes, and Tuscany's producers have leaned into that rule by working with single varieties from named estates. Today that farmhouse tradition has matured into a confident craft scene: estate grappa from single-vineyard pomace, juniper gins built on Mediterranean botanicals, and the bittersweet amari that close a Tuscan meal. These ten distillers map the region from the Chianti hills around Greve and Radda to the wild Maremma coast and the volcanic Colli Euganei, tracing the same hillsides that give the wine its name.
1. Nannoni Grappe, Civitella Marittima (Maremma)
Nannoni, in the wild Maremma south of Siena, is arguably Tuscany's most awarded grappa house. Founder Priscilla Occhipinti distils single-variety grappa from Sangiovese, Brunello and Vermentino pomace in artisanal discontinuous bambù copper stills, ageing the reserve bottlings in small oak casks. The grappa is distilled gently and slowly to preserve the fresh, floral aromatics of the individual grape, and the riserve spend years in barrels that soften the spirit into amber. The estate's organic, single-vineyard approach made it a reference point for what Tuscan grappa can be, and tastings at the Maremma cellar pair the spirit with the surrounding scrubland landscape.
2. Distilleria Deta, Barberino Tavarnelle (Chianti)
Deta sits in the heart of Chianti Classico, drawing pomace from the surrounding estates between Florence and Siena. It is one of the larger Tuscan grappa producers, and its bottlings — particularly the Chianti and the aged riserve — are the workhorse grappe you will meet in trattorie across the region. Barberino Tavarnelle sits roughly halfway down the old Via Cassia between Florence and Siena, so the distillery draws on Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino pomace from the dense patchwork of Chianti Classico estates around it. The location among the cypress-lined ridges makes it an easy stop on a Chianti wine route, with the medieval towers of San Gimignano only a short drive west.
3. Peter in Florence Gin, Florence
Peter in Florence is the Tuscan craft gin that reached international shelves. Distilled with Tuscan iris (orris root), juniper and Mediterranean botanicals, its violet-tinged, floral profile is built around the giaggiolo iris that has been cultivated in the Chianti hills for centuries. The orris root is harvested by hand from the giaggiolo fields and dried for years before it releases its powdery, violet perfume, an ingredient so labour-intensive it once made Florentine iris more valuable by weight than many spices. The branding leans hard into Florentine elegance, and the gin has become a fixture of the city's aperitivo bars along the Arno.
4. Winestillery / Officine Florentine, Florence
This small Florentine operation distils gin, grappa and liqueurs in the city itself, using grapes and botanicals from Tuscan estates. It represents the new urban craft wave — small batches, transparent sourcing, and a tasting room that lets visitors see the still rather than just buy the bottle. Working inside the city rather than on a country estate, these makers bring the distilling process into walking distance of the Duomo and the Oltrarno workshops, part of the same artisan revival that has filled Florence with small-batch makers of leather, paper and chocolate.
5. Nardini-style estate grappa at Castello di Querceto (Chianti)
Many Tuscan wine estates now bottle their own estate grappa, distilling the pomace from their single vineyards. Castello di Querceto in the Chianti Classico hills above Greve is a good example: the grappa is made exclusively from the estate's Sangiovese skins, tying the spirit directly to the wine in the glass beside it. Querceto's vineyards sit at around 400 to 500 metres in the hills above Greve in Chianti, where the cooler altitude lends the Sangiovese — and the pomace that follows it — a bright, high-toned aromatic quality. It is the purest expression of the Tuscan farm-to-flask idea, the wine and the grappa poured from the same hillside in the same cellar.
6. Amaro dell'Etrusco and Tuscan amaro makers
Tuscany has a deep amaro tradition built on the herbs of the Apennines and the Maremma scrub — wormwood, gentian, bitter orange and wild fennel. Small producers across the region macerate these botanicals into bittersweet digestivi served after dinner. The style tends to be drier and more herbal than the sweet southern amari, reflecting the Tuscan palate. Many recipes trace back to monastic and pharmacy traditions, and the bitterness leans on gentian root and the Artemisia species that grow on the dry hillsides, balanced by a touch of honey or candied citrus peel.
7. Distilleria Bonollo influence and the Vin Santo connection
Grappa di Vin Santo — distilled from the pomace of Tuscany's prized dessert wine — is a regional speciality. The slow-dried Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes used for Vin Santo leave concentrated, raisined skins, and the grappa made from them carries an unusual depth of dried-fruit and caramel character. Because Vin Santo is itself made in tiny quantities — the grapes are dried on cane racks or hung in airy lofts for months before pressing — the pomace is scarce, and a single estate may yield only a few hundred bottles of its grappa. Several Tuscan estates and partner distilleries produce these prized, limited bottlings each year, often sold only at the cellar door.
8. Liquoreria and the Florentine herbal liqueurs
Florence has a centuries-old pharmacy-and-liqueur culture, epitomised by the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, where Dominican friars have produced herbal elixirs and the famous Alkermes liqueur since the Renaissance. While not a grappa distillery in the modern sense, this tradition of botanical maceration is the historical root of Tuscan craft spirits and is well worth a visit in the city centre.
9. Grappa from the Montalcino Brunello estates
Around the hilltop town of Montalcino, the great Brunello producers turn their Sangiovese Grosso pomace into some of Italy's most sought-after grappa. These single-estate bottlings, aged in barriques that once held the wine itself, command high prices and are a natural complement to a Brunello tasting trip through the Val d'Orcia. Montalcino sits on an isolated hill rising to around 560 metres south of Siena, and the long, warm ripening season that gives Brunello its power leaves behind a pomace dense with colour and tannin, which the grappa carries forward as a deep, brooding intensity.
10. Coastal and island distillers of the Tuscan Archipelago
On the islands of Elba and the Maremma coast, small producers distil grappa and myrtle-style liqueurs from local grapes and wild herbs, echoing the traditions of nearby Corsica and Sardinia. Elba, the largest island of the archipelago and once Napoleon's place of exile, grows Aleatico and Ansonica on terraces above the sea, and the wild myrtle that scents the maquis gives the local liqueur its dark, resinous sweetness. These coastal spirits, sold mostly to summer visitors arriving by ferry from Piombino, round out the Tuscan picture with a saltier, more maritime character far from the inland vineyards.
Tuscan distilling in context
Tuscan spirits are inseparable from Tuscan wine — the grappa begins where the wine ends, in the pomace left after fermentation. That intimacy is the region's signature: a single-estate grappa beside a glass of the same estate's Chianti or Brunello tells a complete story of one hillside. Layered on top are the Florentine gins and herbal liqueurs that draw on the city's Renaissance pharmacy heritage. Together they make Tuscany one of Italy's most rewarding regions for spirits travellers who want to taste beyond the obvious.
Explore on the map
Use the interactive map to plot a route through Tuscan distilling country, from the Chianti grappa houses between Florence and Siena down to the Maremma and the Brunello estates of Montalcino. Open the map to see how the producers cluster along the wine roads, and find Tuscany on the map to pair each still with the vineyards that feed it.