Brandy and Grappa Process

With our distillery situated right in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, we feel we’ve almost got a moral obligation to experiment with grapes as a raw material in our distillates. The results have been well received, and we’ll continue to keep brandy and grappa well stocked for our customers.

Grappa is made by fermenting and distilling the skins, seeds and pulp from grapes. It’s a full-flavored spirit, not for the feint-of-heart. Our grappa is made from the Alsatian-style grapes that do so well in our region – Riesling and Gewurztraminer.

Our brandy, on the other hand, is made from finished wine. We distill a blend of native and vinifera wines to a flavorful a.b.v. of under 160 proof. The white spirit is then aged in our used whiskey casks until it emerges 3-4 years later with notes of oak and vanilla.

Although best known for grape growing, the Finger Lakes is also a great place to grow other fruit such as apples, pears, cherries, and peaches. We bring in local fruit and process to a mash (grind up) or wine (press). It is then fermented with the addition of yeast and then distilled to under 160 proof. Our fruit brandies are most often cut and bottled soon after distillation. This style of spirit is considered an Eau-de-vie in Europe. No sweetener is added, so that we simply capture the essence of the fruit.