From a single loaf of bread baked in Atlanta to a vodka rooted in centuries of Italian custom, Altamura Distilleries Vodka is redefining what the class could be.
Impressed by the historic Pane di Altamura and crafted from uncommon durum wheat grown within the coronary heart of Puglia, the model blends heritage, terroir, and trendy luxurious into each bottle.
On this dialog, Frank Grillo, co-founder and managing director of Altamura Distilleries, shares how an sudden connection between bread and spirits sparked the thought for Altamura Distilleries Vodka, why authenticity stays on the middle of the model, and the way they’re bringing a distinctly Italian perspective to the world of premium vodka.
Altamura Distilleries Vodka is rooted in one thing sudden: bread. Are you able to stroll us by way of how this concept first got here to life?
It actually did begin with a loaf of bread. Once we moved to Puglia, I discovered myself fully immersed within the meals tradition. I like to cook dinner, so I began studying concerning the area and that’s after I found Pane di Altamura. I even baked a “rogue” load whereas I used to be nonetheless dwelling in Atlanta which is how the entire journey began.
What stayed with me was the depth of its historical past.
The Roman poet Horace wrote about this bread over two thousand years in the past, calling it the perfect bread a traveler may tackle a journey. That concept caught. One thing so easy, however so significant. In some unspecified time in the future, I had this realization that bread and spirits will not be that far aside. A loaf of bread is basically a bottle of vodka, gin, or whiskey ready to occur. That was the second Altamura Distilleries actually started.
What impressed the choice to make use of Altamura wheat, and the way does that alternative replicate Italian heritage?
Actually, the wheat selected us. As soon as I began digging into it, I spotted nobody was distilling with Altamura durum wheat, which stunned me. This is similar wheat used for Pane di Altamura, the one bread on the planet with PDO standing, and it has been grown in that area for 1000’s of years. In Italy, meals isn’t nearly consuming. It’s about id, household, and place. That wheat is a part of day by day life in Puglia.
So for us, Altamura Distilleries Vodka grew to become a method of expressing that heritage in a special type. It isn’t about reinventing one thing. It’s about respecting it and giving it a brand new voice.
Italy will not be historically recognized for vodka. Was the purpose all the time to problem that notion?
Probably not. We weren’t making an attempt to problem something. We have been making an attempt to rejoice what Italy already does so properly. With Italian delicacies now acknowledged as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, there’s a renewed appreciation for substances, rituals, and regional id. That’s precisely the place Altamura Distilleries Vodka sits. We have now all the time thought of it as one thing you take pleasure in with meals. It’s clear and expressive, and it really works fantastically alongside dishes, whether or not that’s shellfish, one thing salty, and even simply olives and citrus as an aperitivo. As soon as individuals expertise it that method, it makes full sense.
Are you able to break down the journey from grain to glass in your manufacturing course of?
All of it begins within the fields round Altamura, working carefully with farmers like Andrea Capiello and his household. That relationship is extremely necessary to us. I nonetheless keep in mind standing there with them, having what felt much less like a enterprise dialog and extra like a dialog about belief. They needed to know who we have been and what we have been making an attempt to do with their wheat. From there, we hold issues fairly easy.
We triple distill and bottle at 43 % ABV. That could be very intentional. We’re not making an attempt to strip all the things out. We are attempting to maintain the character of the wheat. Durum wheat naturally has a density and a delicate nutty sweetness. Should you deal with it rigorously, it provides you one thing actually distinctive. That’s what we are attempting to protect in Altamura Distilleries Vodka.
Are there any conventional Italian philosophies that influenced your method?
Undoubtedly. The most important one might be restraint. In Italy, when you’ve gotten an ideal ingredient, you don’t overwork it. You let it converse. That’s precisely how we take into consideration distillation. Every little thing we do comes again to provenance. It’s terroir, who grew it, and the way it’s handled. That’s actually the spine of Altamura Distilleries Vodka.
Vodka has lengthy been related to neutrality. How is Altamura Distilleries Vodka redefining the class?
For us, it’s about exhibiting that vodka can have character with out shedding magnificence. Altamura Distilleries Vodka has a softness to it, but additionally actual depth. You get that light cereal sweetness, a barely savory, virtually umami high quality, and a clear, warming end. It’s nonetheless refined, however it’s not nameless. Moderately than distilling the wheat out of the vodka, we need to distill the wheat into the vodka.
What would you like bartenders to note first?
The feel, no doubt. There’s a weight to it that you simply discover right away. You then get that delicate, savory observe that nearly reminds you of bread. From a bartender’s perspective, that opens issues up. It provides you one thing to play with relatively than one thing fully impartial. We all the time say we constructed Altamura Distilleries Vodka to sit down comfortably in an ideal Martini. It holds its personal and brings one thing to the glass.
The place does Altamura Distilleries Vodka shine in cocktails and repair?
The Martini is the plain one, the feel and umami of the vodka mixed with an elegant vermouth are a stunning option to expertise it. However that very same texture and profile enable it to work with a spread of substances in a really lively method. That’s the reason it has discovered a pure residence in among the world’s greatest resort bars. Being the Official Vodka Companion of The World’s 50 Greatest Inns displays that. It’s a vodka that matches that setting.
The place are you seeing the model resonate from a distribution and retail standpoint?
We’re seeing robust development throughout the US (26 States), Italy, and now Asia. Within the US we’re excited to broaden into the off-trade market with availability by way of shops like Eataly and Whole Wine That stability is necessary. Individuals uncover it in an ideal bar or resort, after which they need to take it residence with them.
How necessary is it to speak Altamura Distilleries Vodka’s Italian id?
It’s central to all the things. When individuals take into consideration Italian merchandise, they give thought to high quality and authenticity. It’s an genuine and historic Italian ingredient, the wheat of Altamura, expressed in a brand new method, but nonetheless very respectful of aware of the historical past and provenance. It isn’t only a vodka made in Italy. It’s a vodka that comes from a really particular place, with a really actual story behind it.
Does sustainability and farming play a task within the model?
Very a lot so. Working with farmers like Andrea Capiello isn’t just about sourcing wheat. It’s about supporting a lifestyle that has existed for generations. That wheat has been grown in the identical area, in the identical method, for 1000’s of years.
How does the Born Free partnership match into the model’s story?
It feels very pure. There’s a shared symbolism within the lion. In Altamura, the lioness represents safety and heritage. For Born Free, it represents conservation and legacy. By means of that partnership, Altamura Distilleries Vodka contributes to conservation efforts with each bottle, in addition to supporting world initiatives and occasions just like the Born Free London Gala. It’s about standing for one thing past the liquid.
The place do you see the premium vodka class heading?
Individuals are changing into extra curious. They need to perceive the place issues come from and what makes them completely different. That’s the place vodka is heading as properly. The concept of a vodka that has a perspective, that “brings one thing to the social gathering” apart from impartial alcohol is an thought whose time has come. Altamura Distilleries Vodka has already been acknowledged within the Drinks Worldwide Bartenders’ Selection Report 2026, which reveals that shift is going on inside the commerce too.
Three phrases to explain Altamura Distilleries Vodka?
Italian, Elegant, Clean.
What’s subsequent for the model?
We’re rising, however we’re staying targeted on the identical thought. There may be nonetheless a lot to discover with this wheat and what it may do. We’re simply at the start of that journey.
The submit How a Loaf of Bread Impressed Considered one of Italy’s Most Distinctive Vodkas appeared first on Chilled Journal.
