Subirer
Subirer is a varietal brandies of Sau bulbs, a rare, originally from Vorarlberg originating pear variety .
The first single-variety Subirer
Just as different dialect forms had developed in the Vorarlberg valleys, different types of pear, which differed from region to region, have emerged over centuries. The Lustenauer owned different types of pear than, for example, the Hörbranzer or Wolfurter . However, most of the Vorarlberg schnapps distillers produced the same simple fruit schnapps, in which cider pears and apples of poor quality were processed. In 1928, the Wolfurter Kapellmeister and councilor Franz Rohner began to mash his sau-pears separately and to produce small amounts of the first single-variety Subirer for personal use. One of the people from Wolfurt who got to know the "new" schnapps was Armin Schertler. Despite the enthusiasm for schnapps, Franz Rohner initially had no imitators, and there was also a lack of pears of this old variety, which almost became extinct in the 1920s.
Origin of the name
The extraordinary aroma of the pear is tempting to eat, but the woody pulp of the pear cannot be swallowed - the throat closes and the choking pomace has to be spat out. This is how the name Sau pear came about; the pear is a “pig” (in the sense of a deceiving slut) that invites you to eat and then turns out to be inedible. So the strange pear name did not come about in the sense of “feed for the pigs”. The trees are rare and grow very slowly; To meet today's great demand, young trees are grown with the Subirer noble rice in orchards.
Schertler schnapps distillery
After the Second World War, there was a lot of money to be made from schnapps. Armin Schertler from Wolfurt set up a large schnapps distillery near his villa. When he wanted to expand his offer, he remembered the Subirer whom Schertler had met at Franz Rohner's. Schertler began to manufacture the Subirer in large quantities. He systematically bought the rare pears with advertisements all over Vorarlberg at double, later triple prices; the surrounding inns began serving. The first bottles were labeled "Schweinsbirner". After the demand increased steadily, Schertler confidently sold his schnapps as "Subirer". When the competition in the neighboring villages began with the branding of the Subirer, a dispute arose over the brand name. Armin Schertler died in 1994 - he had neglected to protect the brand name for himself. In the autumn of 1998 the large distilleries in the Vorarlberger Unterland fought over the brand name. Today only Vorarlberg distillers are allowed to produce the brandy, the brand name is protected.
Highest international awards
The Vorarlberg fruit distillers achieved their greatest international success with the Subirer. The 1995 Subir harvest was rated by the most important gourmet guides Gault-Millau and Heine a la Carte for the winning schnapps in 1998. Subirer has a highly aromatic, tart-sweet taste and a unique aroma. The price of the schnapps is correspondingly high. In 2010 a liter of the exclusive schnapps cost around 100 euros.
Alternative "Husbirer"
Far less known than the Subirer is a second varietal Vorarlberg fruit brandy, the “Wißbirer” or “Husbirer”. The tall- trunk fruit trees of the "Weißbirne", which are up to 25 meters high , were mostly located near the farmhouses and provided shade - that's how the name came about. Vorarlberg schnapps connoisseurs appreciate this harmonious and fruity pear brandy as an equivalent but inexpensive alternative to the sometimes overpriced Subirer.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Local history magazine with detailed content on the subject of "Su-Biorar". (See issue 22, p. 53; PDF; 4.7 MB)
- ↑ Heimatkunde magazine (see p. 52; PDF; 3.6 MB)
- ↑ a b Homepage of the Zauser distillery
- ↑ Homepage of the fruit brandy club
- ↑ Homepage to the Husbirer
literature
- Siegfried Heim: To Ächto Su-Biorar! In: Heimat Wolfurt. Journal of the local history circle . Issue 22, March 1999, pp. 52–56, online (PDF; 4.7 MB)