Distillery of Pear Brandy 

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Colombier pear brandy

Pear brandy was first produced in France in Villette de Vienne by Joannès Colombier who, as one of a few licenced private distillers, used to distill a small amount of brandy from pears growing in his orchard.
Fernand POINT , who ran a famous restaurant, LA PYRAMIDE in Vienne, and was a friend of Mr Colombier's went into raptures upon tasting this excellent fruity liquor and asked his friend to save his produce for him from the 1930's onwards. As time went by, the fame of this brandy spread in the restaurant world and by the 1960's it was also available in specialized outlets.

From fruit....

The tradition pioneered by Joannès Colombier is continued by his son-in-law and daughter, Renaud and Anne-Marie du Closel.

They distill brandy from William pears in their 10-Hectares (25 acres) orchard in the northern part of the Rhone valley, where both the soil and climate are ideal for growing William pear-trees (a fifth of the orchard is over 100 years old).

As orchardmen, the du Closel are in the position to control every step of the brandy-making process : the trees themselves are not irrigated and the pears are never refrigerated. Maturing conditions are therefore ideal and the character of the brandy is closely scrutinized from one year to the next.

...To Brandy

The temperature of the must is regulated naturally thanks to fermentation in underground vats.

A slow distilling method - involving redistilling and core selection - is used.

The brandy is marketed in two formulation: 43° ( easier to taste with instant fruity sensation) or 50° (a more delicate fragrance and greater persistence to the taste).

Tasting is very much a matter of individual preference but it is generally agreed that pear brandy gives of its best at temperature lying between 5 and 10°C.