History

1977

The beginning

Paolo Marolo, who taught Herbalism and Liqueur Making at the Oenology School in Alba, establishes the Santa Teresa Distillery. The objective: to enhance the image of grappa, starting from the exceptional raw materials offered by Langhe and Roero, one of the world’s premier winegrowing districts.

1978

Friendship
and art

Gianni Gallo designs the first labels for Marolo. From then on, the labels on Marolo’s main products would bear the unmistakeable signature style of the artist from Dogliani.

1980

Ageing
with style

Marolo distills its first Grappa di Barolo «deliberately forgotten to age in small acacia barrels».

Changing habits


Made industrially and cheaply, until the Seventies grappa was exclusively drunk white and young as a rough, unrefined pick-me-up. It was only in 1973 that the first single-varietal grappa was distilled by Giannola Nonino. In 1980, Paolo Marolo wrote «DELIBERATELY FORGETTEN IN ACACIA BARRELS» on the labels of his Grappa di Barolo. It was the start of a revolution. Grappa laid claim to excellence, with long-aged, high quality products with a wealth of nuances and aromas to be savoured attentively.

1989

Beyond the single-varietal

Marolo launches its first single-vineyard grappa obtained from pomace from the Enrico VI vineyard within the Villero di Castiglione Falletto cru.

Single-vineyard Grappa


Marolo was one of the first Italian distillers to go beyond the single-varietal concept in favour of that of the single-vineyard, or a grappa obtained from pomace from a single plot in a grand cru. The operation is made possible by the highly artisanal nature of the production process and close ties with local winegrowers

'90s

New markets

Marolo enters the American market, making its presence felt in the top-end HoReCa channel

2004

Refining research

A new ageing cellar is built where new woods for ageing grappa are tested and used.

2010

The drink code

MILLA, the chamomile and Nebbiolo grappa liqueur perfect for cocktails makes its debut.

Grappa and Mixology


The renaissance of grappa as a quality spirit with incredible aromatic nuances has stimulated the creativity of mixologists, who have begun to use grappa in cocktails, not as a neutral base, but as a core element with an unmistakeable flavour.

2014

New recruits

Lorenzo Marolo, Paolo’s son, joins the company and carries on his father’s artisanal tradition.

2015

Innovators in tradition

Marolo brings Amaro Ulrich back to life, rediscovering and reinterpreting the recipe for the legendary Piedmontese digestif produced in the second half of the 19th century

2016

An important conquest

After a long, involved bureaucratic process, Grappa di Barolo obtains IGP (Geographical Indication) classification. A "struggle" that has always seen Marolo in the front line.

2017

Doubly Piedmontese

Marolo presents Grappa di Barolo aged in Barolo Chinato casks. The result of lengthy research into woods for ageing, it is an ode to territoriality and the ties with its land of origin that Grappa di Barolo has always taken pride in.