Cappelletti Elisir Novasalus Vino Amaro
Cappelletti Elisir Novasalus Vino Amaro is an Italian vino amaro at 16% ABV in a 750mL bottle — a dry Marsala DOC base (aromatized wine, not a spirit liqueur) carrying 30+ botanicals, sweetened only with Sicilian tree sap, from the family-run Antica Erboristeria Cappelletti in Alto Adige — available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
- ABV: 16% vol
- Size: 750mL
- Base wine: dry Marsala DOC, Sicily
- Botanicals: 30+ — burdock, dandelion, aloe vera, gentian, frangula (alder buckthorn), high-alpine plants
- Production: century-old formula; botanicals infused, macerated, or decocted over a six-month process
- Producer: Antica Erboristeria Cappelletti, Alto Adige — family-owned, 4th generation (founded 1906/1909, unverified)
From an Alto Adige Herbal-Remedy Shop
Giuseppe Cappelletti opened his erboristeria — a herbal-remedy shop — in Alto Adige in the early 1900s, and in the 1920s added Elisir Novasalus: a vino amaro built on dry Marsala DOC rather than neutral spirit, carrying over 30 botanicals through a six-month process, with Sicilian tree sap as its only sweetener. The label still bears the motto "in campis vita in herbis salus" — life in the fields, health in the grass. Bold, bitter, and exceptionally complex, it is famously comforting after a large meal; refrigerate after opening. Browse the Cappelletti range, or explore the store's amaro and bitter selection.
Tasting Notes
Deep umber brown; bitter herbal aromas of turmeric, sage, cardamom, and cola. Delicately bitter on entry, intensifying mid-palate with bittersweet herbal depth — mouth-coating, dried-herb finish with prolonged turmeric and bitter citrus-peel aftertaste.
How to Enjoy
Traditionally taken neat as a digestive after dinner — never mixed, in the old style. Modern bartenders reach for it in Manhattans and similar sweeter-profile cocktails where its bitterness balances the whiskey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "vino amaro" mean?
A bitter aromatized wine — unlike most amari, which are spirit-based liqueurs, Elisir Novasalus is built on dry Marsala DOC wine.
What is the ABV?
16% ABV.
What is the only sweetener?
A unique tree sap from Sicily — no added sugar beyond it.
What does the label motto mean?
"In campis vita in herbis salus" — "in the fields, life; in the herbs, health" — a nod to the erboristeria's herbal-medicine roots.
Alto Adige's earnest digestivo: order Cappelletti Elisir Novasalus Vino Amaro online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.