From the heart of Le Marche to the world!
I high-quality distillates and the Italian craft beers by Collesi find their ideal microclimate in a small medieval village, Apecchio, on the border between Marche and Umbria.
In the cultivation and production processes of beers and spirits everything takes place in harmony with the rhythms of nature and according to the most advanced sustainability criteria.
The Collesi plant operates at “zero emissions”, thanks to the 32 kW photovoltaic system, the pellet-fuelled steam generator and the decision not to use hydrocarbons and LPG. An environmentally friendly plant, designed to safeguard the environment, people's well-being and safety.
It is here that all Collesi-branded excellences are born and from here they travel all over the world, meeting the taste buds of international connoisseurs and winning prestigious prizes and awards.
An adventure of quality, tradition and experience born from the passion of its founder, Giuseppe Collesi.
From spirits to Italian craft beer,
the account of Giuseppe Collesi.
I was a boy, studying electronics at Città di Castello, but my real passion was something else. In my spare time I used to help my parents in the family's agriturismo restaurant. I served at the tables and the thing I liked best was proposing my father's home-made grappas to the customers. They fell in love with them because I knew how to tell them.
It was a product I felt very much. I perfumes, the nuances of taste, the technique of preparation. When I came up with the idea it was 1997, it was then that I decided to open my own distillery in the heart of the Marche region in Apecchio, a historic hill town where I have always lived.
Friends told me it was madness. True Italian grappas were produced in Friuli, Veneto and Trentino, but I was not deterred. The distillery opened at the end of 2001 and already in 2002 awards and recognitions began to arrive. Today, Grappe Collesi is a brand of excellence and mine is the first and most successful distillery in the Marche region.
During a prestigious tasting at the Senate of the Republic, with 45 embassies from all over the world, I saw an old friend of mine, the Belgian ambassador... he was the one who gave me the input:
“Why don't you open a brewery?” A sentence that enlightened me.
A story of ideas, adventures and successes.
I had superlative raw materials: pure water of source from Monte Nerone and fine barley grown on old family estates, plus the know-how of a Belgian master brewer that I brought to Apecchio.
I was ready to embark on a new venture: to create a high-quality Italian craft beer inspired by the tradition of Trappist monks. My friends, this time, said nothing.
Construction work for the Collesi Brewery began in 2005, the first brew was in November 2007 and in March 2008 the marketing. National and international awards were not long in coming, and as with the grappas, they arrived in large numbers.
The elements of this success? As with spirits, I try to give my best. A’unique sensory experience which expresses the bond with the land and tradition, which is why I wanted to put the family coat of arms on both the distillates and the Collesi Craft Beers. My great-great-grandfather, the first mayor of Apecchio after the Unification of Italy, created it in 1870:
is a tower, symbol of our village, surrounded by three small stars.
