Spirited away: the making of Scholten & Baijings' and Nonino's grappa flasks for Handmade

Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings were inspired by Nonino's single-grape
Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings were inspired by Nonino's single-grape approach when creating their set of flasks for this year's Wallpaper* Handmade
(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

At the forefront of the high-end grappa movement, family-run distillers Nonino have been experimenting with grappa from their Friuli home-base in northeastern Italy since 1897. The family has since perfected their artisanal techniques and created single-grape grappa (or Monovitigno®, a word which didn’t exist in the Italian dictionary until Nonino invented it), revolutionising the tipple's production. 

We've been admiring the family’s artisanal product for a while. Thus, for our Handmade exhibition, we wanted to work out a way to take (and drink) our grappa everywhere we go. We enlisted Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings, to create a series of pocket-sized vessels inspired by the single-grape approach of Nonino's distillers. 

Scholten & Baijings’ and Nonino’s grappa flasks

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

See six delicious grappa-based cocktail recipes here

Their portable metal flasks come with a small cup with which to drink your grappa anywhere, and their shape combines a classic flask silhouette with the duo's signature lines. The shades of the fruit’s skin and texture have inspired a colour palette that interprets nature and celebrates the liquor’s precious origins. 'Inspired by Dutch masters, who have been trying to capture the beauty of the grape on canvas ever since the 16th century, we designed five different colour series for the flasks,' explains Carole Baijings, who heads the design studio with Stefan Scholten. 'The five colour compositions complement the five selected Nonino grappa Monovitigno® varieties.'

In fact, each flask has a grappa soul mate – from the pink iteration for Merlot grapes, to a fresh green for white Prosecco. The blue flasks represent the special grappa Monovitigno® Chardonnay in Barriques (the darker colour) and the Cuvée Monovitigni® Vintage (the lighter), while yellow is for the Moscato

This 'grappa on the go' concept works particularly well with the Italian company’s latest venture: creating a series of cocktails from their house liquors. The drinks (over 20 concoctions conceived by the family themselves as well as by international barmen and mixologists) include grappa-laced interpretations of classics, such as the Nonino Libre or the Nonino Tonic, while others offer innovative mixes, such as the Black Vino, a combination of muddled blackberries with Giffard Muroise liqueur and Yukihime plum wine with the white Chardonnay Monovitigno®
 grappa, created by Singapore-based mixologist Naz Arjuna. We couldn't help but sampling them at our Handmade party in Milan this past April.

The vast Nonino cocktail library is a grand addition to their rich product family – and a perfect example of how a company so rooted in a tradition of purity can maintain its identity while experimenting with its products. 

The shades of the fruit’s skin and texture have inspired a colour palette

The shades of the fruit’s skin and texture have inspired a colour palette that gracefully interprets nature and celebrates the liquor’s precious origins

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

The five colour compositions complement the five selected Nonino grappa Monovitigno® varieties

'Inspired by Dutch masters, who have been trying to capture the beauty of the grape on canvas ever since the 16th century, we designed five different colour series for the flasks,' explains Carole Baijings, who heads the design studio with Stefan Scholten. 'The five colour compositions complement the five selected Nonino grappa Monovitigno® varieties'

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

Each flask combines a subtle palette of shades

Each flask combines a subtle palette of shades: the blue flask represents the company's grappa Monovitigno® Chardonnay in Barriques 

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

A classic flask silhouette and the duo’s signature lines

Their portable metal flasks come with a small cup with which to drink your grappa anywhere; their shape combines a classic flask silhouette and the duo’s signature lines

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

Nonino distils its grappa from its base in northeastern Italy

Nonino distils its grappa from its base in northeastern Italy. The aging-cellars of the Nonino distillery are home to small barrels made of various types of wood: at present they boast 1855 receptacles made from Nevers, Limousin and Grésigne oaks, ex-sherry barrels and acacia, wild cherry and pear

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

The alambicchi (stills) where the grappa is distilled

The alambicchi (stills) where the grappa is distilled

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

Find the selection of cocktail recipes

Find the selection of cocktail recipes here

(Image credit: Scholten & Baijings)

Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.