Missouri’s vintners take on the hard stuff

Missouri’s wine industry has earned itself a good reputation, but when it comes to the harder stuff, our state takes a back seat to better-known liquor producers like Kentucky or Tennessee. But maybe not for long. Thanks to Missouri Liquor Control Law 311.190, it is now possible for our wineries to expand their selection of products to include “brandy, from grapes, berries, other fruits, fruit products.” Vintner Tony Kooyumjian is taking full advantage of the new law, producing several eaux de vie and a grappa at his Montelle Winery in Augusta. Liquors such as eau de vie, grappa and German schnapps fall into a category of spirits distilled from fruit rather than grain (as in whiskey and vodka). These are made by pressing and distilling whole fruit, and the resulting liquor is quickly bottled. The spirits are not aged, leaving them with a clear color and pronounced fruit flavor, such as kirschwasser (cherry), mirabelle (plum) or poire (pear). While these varied and distinctly regional products have been made in Europe for centuries, American-made eau de vie is relatively new. Clear Creek Distillery, established in Portland, Ore., two decades ago, leads the U.S. pack with its stellar grappas and fruit brandies, including a traditional “fruit in the bottle” style of pear brandy. To achieve this, empty bottles are tied over the pear tree buds in the spring, allowing the fruit to grow inside the bottle. This practice is used in Normandy, where apples are grown inside the bottle by some producers of Calvados, an apple brandy. At Montelle, Kooyumjian begins his distilled products by cooking mashed fruit (about 8 pounds per 375-milliliter bottle) to dryness. It then goes into the column still and is slowly heated to a boiling point; the alcohol, in vapor form, is released just before boiling and then condensed in a cooling coil. That condensation is the basic distillate. Kooyumjian uses only the heart of the distillate; the heads, the first to be distilled, have rough flavors, and the tails have a distinctive “cardboard” off aroma. Both have harshness and negatively impact the final product if they are mixed. All of Montelle’s spirits are distilled to a minimum of 140 proof and then diluted to 80 proof with rainwater. Montelle Distillery Cherry “Eau de Vie” Brandy is made from pitted Montmorency cherries, which Kooyumjiam likes for their tartness. I really enjoyed the solid cherry aroma, which is not always so pronounced in other brands. The style is very reminiscent of the top German kirschwassers. Only Red Haven peaches are used for Montelle’s peach eau de vie. After the pits are removed, about 10 percent of the stones are then reintroduced to the slushy mashed peaches for fermentation and distillation. Kooyumjiam feels that a smaller amount of pits adds a slight character, while leaving all of the pits would lead to bitterness. I could smell the lovely peachy aromas even as he was pouring a sample. Of all of the many varieties of apples, Kooyumjian likes the character of the Golden Delicious variety, particularly the flavor from the skins, for his brandy – the result of the time he spent at Holstein distillation plant in Bavaria, where they use Golden Delicious. He simply removes the stems, presses the fruit and sends it to the still after fermenting dry. This brandy was awarded a Gold Medal and Best of Class at the 2007 Missouri Wine Competition. For his grappa, Kooyumjian shovels the Norton grape skins, or pomace, from the wine tanks after fermentation is completed. (These would normally be returned to the vineyards as mulch.) He then adds a bit of wine, and transfers the mix to the column still to produce the grappa. This is one of the very few grappas I’ve tasted that did not have a burn, either in the aroma or the flavor. In future bottlings, however, the name “eau de vie” will not be allowed, since our federal government has determined that this French term cannot be used on American products. The three will likely be labeled simply as brandy (inexplicably, “grappa,” an Italian word, will still be allowed). Kooyumjian’s copper column still may be the first in Missouri for commercial fruit brandy production, but the results from last year’s production – Montelle’s first – are so overwhelmingly good that I would expect other vintners to be encouraged to follow his leadership.