distillery, and things that come and go
On our way up, but still down in Walenstadt, we visited a micro distillery. I happen to enjoy some of their products from time to time and was curious to learn more about this early retired teacher who creates pieces of art. He ferments everything (contrary to what you get around the corner, where fruits are just mixed with alcohol and later distilled) and has a distillation apparatus that was designed by himself and allows distillation at reduced pressure. When you get there at his place, you would get a coffee, cheese and are invited to test whatever he has.
He has a well trained nose that is his only guide when distilling. In a sense, his craft is quite similar to perfumery. And like in perfumery, it matters very much what you put in. Here, is is critical what you put into the fermentation pot. Take cheap apples, and you will certainly feel the difference!
“Well then”, he replies on the question what he will do if some starting materials are not available anymore, “well, then there will be no schnaps. But this is the way it is. Nothing I can do about.” He is right, and I guess the same is true for perfumery. Things come and go. Most of the time, however, perfumes go because the clients don’t buy enough for modern marketing departments. Things come and go too fast these days.
So we bought the last! 1 litre bottle of a pear schnapps, that he made from fruits from trees that are cut down by now. Old, very old pear trees, unknown breed, maybe irreplaceable. There is an organization here in Switzerland, trying to save such old breeds that are at the edge of getting extinct, called “pro specie rara”, making sure that important genetic traits are conserved for future generations (website in D, F, I: http://www.prospecierara.ch/).
Prost, cheers, nastrovje!
(the distillery)
(what comes out)
July 4th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Yes, Andy, at you in Switzerland is many tasty liquors. I tasted some of them. I very much love such small, almost house firms which have long-term traditions. It is a pity, that with the globalization, many of them will disappear. I wish you forces and health to taste many grades:)
July 4th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
How delightful, and tidy [naturlich !] everything is !
What a pleasure for all the senses.
July 4th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Here in the USA (and I think in Canada) the “old breeds” are called heritage varieties, sometimes antique varieties. There are many societies devoted to exchanging and preserving these varieties, often specializing in one species or type of plant. I remember seeing a television show about Bolivia recently and the efforts there to preserve the many heritage potato cultivars in that country. I like the phrase “heritage variety”: it implies something precious, worth preserving, a legacy to the present from those who have gone before.
In the commercial realm, we have perfumers like Serena Ava Franco who in her vintage line is similarly preserving “heritage species”. There are web sites devoted to “heritage” products of various types: here is a fan site devoted to a very local ginger ale from South Carolina, USA:
http://theacf.com/blenheim/
My hope is that the internet’s ability to reach marketing’s Long Tail will aid in the preservation of the precious things of the past. As life around the planet becomes more homogeneous, hopefully many more people will grow to prize the treasures of unique places and past times. So on my better days, Vladimir, I have hope that globalization will not succeed in killing off the special things that enrich our sense of time and place, whether varieties of fruit, flowers, liquors, or that special perfume once worn by another generation but now nearly forgotten.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Andy, how sad! :( I know all things must pass, but part of me rails in anger at those old trees being cut down…who cut them, and why?!? Didn’t they know they were precious? I’m an archivist and a collecting pack-rat at heart, so when something goes away, never to be seen or experienced again, I grieve.
July 5th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Dear Vladimir and Vasily
Thank you. I love this little entreprises too, driven be the passion and vision of one man and his woman supporting him! But I go with Vasily. I hope very much that the internet with all its unique possibilities for little entreprises and with its opportunities to stay informed about things happening around us, will help! As a matter of fact, there is a large chain (COOP), that has started collaborating with prospecie rara and Coop started to offer some really fantastic vegetables, like blue potatoes or heritage type carrots that are totally different and open up great ideas for one’s kitchen.
So, there is a lot of hope and I am very optimistic that we are on the right track….
Dear Arhianrad,
the trees were cut to build houses…sad, indeed. They did not know or did not care. Probably the later. Houses come before pear trees, it seems.
Greetings to you