Eau de vie
Eau de vie ( French for water of life ) is the French name for schnapps distilled from fruit or wine pomace . It processes a variety of fruits, most apples , pears , yellow plums , prunes , cherries and raspberries .
If the fruit brandy was obtained exclusively from one type of fruit, it is referred to with the respective name of the fruit, e.g. B. "Eau de vie de poire" (French pear ). The same applies in the event that only the marc of one grape variety was used in the distillation of wine marc. The distillate from wine pomace is also known as marc and is comparable to Italian grappa .
distillation
Before the burning process , the fruit to be processed is fermented, sometimes with the addition of sugar and yeast . After fermentation is complete, i.e. when the sugar contained in the mash has been completely converted into alcohol , it is sometimes distilled several times.
The distillation takes place either over a direct flame, but also in a water bath ( bain-marie ) in order to better bring out the sometimes fine and volatile fruit aromas. Furthermore, different types of stills are used by different distilleries . The quality of the fruit used is decisive for the quality of the schnapps - regardless of the craft or industrial processing. Only a “rough” schnapps can be made from damaged fruit.
Production area and classification
The regional focus of production for fruit brandies in France is in Alsace , Jura and Franche-Comté , Burgundy and Normandy . Within defined cultivation areas of Normandy, the apple brandies bear the name Calvados , outside of these they are only allowed to bear the designation "Eau de vie" or "Eau de vie de pomme" (French apple ). The Breton equivalent of the Calvados is the Lambig , also called eau-de-vie de cidre de Bretagne after its protected designation of origin .
The production of pomace brandy is widespread with varying degrees of intensity in all wine regions, especially in Alsace, Burgundy and Champagne . The companies producing eau de vie are very different; There are small, artisanal, rural businesses, some of which also operate as outpatient traveling distilleries, but there are also large businesses belonging to large beverage groups.
The schnapps mentioned are available in a wide variety of presentations, quality levels and price ranges. It is important that, in order to preserve the fruit aroma , they are enjoyed either at room temperature or in a glass that has been swiveled out with ice cubes and should never be stored in the refrigerator beforehand.
Eau de vie is usually drunk as a digestif . However, it is also enjoyed as a pousse café with coffee or used as a flavoring in the production of baked goods or cakes.
literature
- La Production et le commerce des eaux-de-vie de vin, de Roger Chaminade. Baillière. Encyclopédie Viticole, 1930.
(Ouvrage sur la distillation: Charentes, Armagnac, marcs du Midi et de Bourgogne, Folle blanche, Colombard, Blanc-Ramé - Vins de distillation, alambics, conservation et traitements, régime fiscal).
