Vecchia Romagna

Vecchia Romagna - from France to Italy

Since the beginning of the 18th century, the Buton family in France dedicated themselves to the noble art of distilling, filling a precious notebook with formulas and secrets to be handed down from generation to generation: The Butons' collection of recipes. The success of their eaux-de-vie was such that they were given the title of "Purveyors to the Imperial Household of Napoleon I ".

The road to Italy

With the fall of the regime, the most talented family heir, Jean Buton, decided to embark on a long journey to Italy, taking the famous family recipe book with him. Drawn by the inspiration, creativity and millennial Italian wine tradition, Jean immediately realized that he had arrived in the "land of great wines" he had always sought. He decided to settle in Emilia Romagna, where he found the ideal grapes, the right climate and an environment full of culture and inspiration to refine his distillery art. In 1820, with the help of a local entrepreneur, Jean opened an experimental liqueur factory in Bologna. The success of the experimental liqueur factory led to the creation of the first Italian steam distillery in 1830: the "Distilleria G. Buton & C.", which gave birth to Buton cognac, a top Italian quality destined to spread throughout the world.

The new name

More than a hundred years later, in 1939, the company decided to rename your Cognac Buton to Vecchia Romagna Buton Brandy to increase the Italian aura of the product. This period is marked by two realizations that proved to be successful: The use of the image of Bacchus and the creation of the distinctive triangular bottle.

After the Second World War until today

In 1943, World War II bombing raids destroyed the distillery. Only the old underground cellars remained intact, guarding the casks and barriques with their precious contents. A real treasure that allowed the company to start from scratch after the war and rebuild its commercial success. In 1970, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its foundation, a new advanced production plant was inaugurated: the "City of Brandy": 180,000 square meters dedicated only to the production and aging of noble brandy. In 1999, Vecchia Romagna was acquired by the Montenegro Group. The commercial success and the renovation of the historic production plant breathed new life into the group and were the new beginning for one of the largest Italian spirits producers today.

The production of Vecchia Romagna brandy

The distillation process

At the beginning of the production process of Vecchia Romagna is the careful combination of two distillation techniques.
First of all, the discontinuous distillation in which the wine is heated for 8-10 hours in Charentais stills. During this phase, the pre- and post-distillate are expertly removed, so that only the heart of the concentrate, full of aromas and fragrances of the original wine are collected in the barrel. The second technique is continuous distilling in tall, so-called "column stills". In this process, a high alcohol content is reached in a short time. The protagonist of this last phase is the steam, which distributes the heat homogeneously, giving purity and roundness to the brandy.

Maturation

Maturation is one of the most decisive moments in the production of eaux-de-vie. The time the wine spends in the barrel and the way it interacts with the wood determine the character of the eau-de-vie, enriching it with complex aromas and flavours. Nearly 4000 barrels are stored in the large aging cellars just outside of Bologna - each with an individual toasting process performed by the most talented coopers. A quiet and secluded environment where, among woody and ethereal scents, the metamorphosis of the distillate is patiently awaited.

Maturation takes place in two types of wooden barrels with different capacities: the first are 400-litre barriques, small French oak barrels in which the eau-de-vie remains in close contact with the wood for at least a year, giving it an intense aroma and a very light vanilla note. The next step takes place in large, Slavonian oak barrels with a capacity of 4000-5000 l, where, thanks to a slower exchange with the wood, the distillate preserves all the qualities of the original wine, giving it an exquisite and balanced taste.

The blending

The final step of the Vecchia Romagna process is blending: the aged eaux-de-vie are selected by expert hands and combined with each other in a delicate balancing act to keep the flavour characteristics of Vecchia Romagna unchanged over time. The crucial step of this phase is the blending, when the selected eaux-de-vie are mixed in large vats, where they rest for at least three months before being bottled in the iconic triangular bottles.