It all starts with the raw materials, which have to be exceptional. As Jörg says, “All we have is the fruit. If it’s not in the fruit, we don’t get it.” We crush the fruit, inoculate it with yeast, and cold-ferment it in our insulated tank. Fermentation usually takes two weeks; at that point, we have a porridge of fruit solids, water, and about five percent alcohol. This is pumped into our Holstein stills in sixty-five gallon batches. Four hundred pounds of fruit, two hours, and one still run later, we’re left with five gallons of brandy. At between sixty to seventy percent alcohol, this is high-proof eau de vie; it’s mixed with filtered water to a consistent forty percent alcohol, which is bottling strength.
“Standing in a California orchard
more than 20 years ago, I was inspired by the perfect fruit around me to preserve
its extraordinary quality in a brandy, or “eau de vie”. That was
the beginning of St. George Spirits, America’s first distiller of true
“water of life”. I set out to use the Old World methods I knew
from my childhood in the Black Forest, and have constantly worked to refine
them and to search out sources of delicious fruit.
"I draw on this experience to present the pinnacle of St. George’s
achievements – AQUA PERFECTA.”
--Jörg Rupf
| ...notes from the tasting room "The Framboise is, in a word, intense. We use Washington state Meeker raspberries, chosen for the concentrated power of their flavor and aroma, and ferment with Pinot yeast, to encourage further development of berry characteristics. I never have any difficulty identifying the contents of an unlabeled glass of Framboise—one good whiff is so raspberry-rich that my mouth waters. Pair it with walnuts, lemon curd, or bittersweet chocolate, or invite sensory overload by splashing some on the ripest raspberries you can find." jam>> |
| ...notes from the tasting room "I always start tasters off on the Poire William. It’s our flagship product, and a great way to introduce the uninitiated to eau de vie. Although it’s absolutely clear, it’s so redolent of pears that no one would ever mistake it for water; empty your glass, and the scent still lingers. "We get our fruit from Mendocino and Lake Counties, right here in Northern California. They’re Bartletts, big yellow pears that get softer and juicier as they ripen. When they arrive at the distillery, we wait a couple of days to let them reach their peak before we crush them. We ferment the pears with Champagne yeast, which gives the eau de vie some of its elegant crispness. " Match the Poire William with mellow, buttery flavors: toasted nuts, caramel, vanilla bean… …or, follow one of Lance’s wilder inspirations, and try it over pineapple." jam>> |
| ...notes from the tasting room "Kirsch is the most difficult of the eaux de vie to do really well, and the most complex to taste. Its cherry tang (enhanced by Pinot yeast) is combined with the almond flavor it picks up from the cherries fermenting with their pits. The cherries themselves are Montmorencies, a sour variety grown in Michigan. Sweet varieties, like Bing and Rainier, are terrific for eating, but don’t translate well into spirits. Tasters are often fooled by the kirsch’s genteel approach; the smooth almond beginning is chased by a huge, lingering cherry finish. I love the stunned silence that follows. " jam>> |
| ...notes from the tasting room "I often have to talk tasters into trying our grappa, since a lot of them have tried someone else’s and are still recovering from the experience. "Grappa is distilled from pomace, which is what remains of grapes after they’ve been pressed for wine—mostly skins and seeds, with a little fermented juice. It’s not unusual for winemakers to crush their grapes, set aside the pomace, and come back to it when they have the time to do something with it (and generally after they’ve added a couple more batches of pomace to the original lot). What this means is that the fruit has a chance to go through secondary, and even tertiary, fermentation, allowing all the tannins in the skins and seeds to infuse the juice. Once that’s distilled, the result is highly tannic, with barely recognizable grape flavor. This may be why when I offer our grappa, sometimes tasters wince and mutter “rocket fuel.” "St. George takes a different approach to grappa. We use one varietal, from one vineyard (Rosenblum Cellars Rockpile Road Zinfandel). It’s excellent wine, which means it’s outstanding pomace, and we don’t wait around for it to turn into something harsh and astringent. We distill it right away, preserving all the lovely ripe, spicy flavors of a great zin. Our grappa is very smooth, very drinkable—not rocket fuel at all." jam>> |