The lineup at Infinity Beverages Recipevwmmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017MA_HAUSER... · In...
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70 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Mar - Apr 2017 www.vwmmedia.com www.vwmmedia.com Mar - Apr 2017 | VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 71 CRAFT BEVERAGES REPORT Matthew Rick — found himself in the unique position of having won a regional magazine’s top cocktail award. “And we’re not even a bar!” he says, explaining that the winning chili pepper-infused-vodka concoc- tion was something he served at his tasting room. Because infused vodkas are the spirit of choice in countless bars (and tasting rooms), we talked to owners of winery/distilleries in California, Idaho and Wisconsin to learn about their infusing experi- ences. But some details couldn’t be shared. They were trade secrets or, in the case of Charbay, “ancient Serbian extraction techniques.” CHARBAY ARTISAN DISTILLERY & WINERY At Charbay Artisan Distillery & Winery in Mendocino County, Calif., Marko Karakasevic is the family’s 13th-generation wine- maker/distiller. His father, Miles, left Europe in the 1960s as a cer- tified enologist and eventually found employment in Napa Valley. In 1983, when Marko was 10, his parents launched Charbay, making both wine and brandy. In 2009, after a long apprentice- ship, then 36-year-old Marko was made “master distiller” by his father. The next year, Marko’s beer- based whiskey distilled as an eau de vie snagged the highest rating in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge for American Whiskey. inery/distilleries dot the coun- try now. They’re run by a new breed that saw not only simi- larities between winemaking and spirits distillation, but opportunities for expanded sales. Typically, their tasting rooms feature sips of sev- eral wines alongside shots of their own distilled spirits such as whis- key, rum and infused vodka. One winemaker/distiller in Eau Claire, Wis. — Infinity Beverages’ + Infused vodkas are top sellers at winery/distilleries. + Vodka can be flavored with anything from fresh fruit or vegetables (chili peppers, tea leaves) to beans (vanilla and espresso). + Methods for flavoring vodka include steeping, extraction and redistilling fruit macerated in vodka. + Distilling is seen by many as a natural progression from winemaking and a profitable means of diversification. AT A GLANCE Winery/distilleries’ infused vodkas are top sellers across the country. The lineup at Infinity Beverages includes all sorts of infused flavors and mixing opportunities. In 1998, Charbay released the first of what would become the company’s top seller: fruit-flavored vodka. Marko, who came up with the idea after noticing several fla- vored vodkas on the shelf at a bar, remembers it as a hard sell. “My dad’s an artist of flavor,” Marko explains. “He said, ‘We don’t make vodka in our fam- ily. Vodka has no flavor in it.’ But I looked up on the shelf and there was Absolut Citron and Stoli Orange.” Using the extraction process taught to him by his father, Marko follows the procedure that he ordi- narily would use for making a fruit liqueur. After a three-month pro- cess of creating an extract from fresh-picked fruit, he integrates the extract into a corn- and rye-based vodka that’s custom-made for Char- bay in the Midwest. The fruit-flavored vodka opera- tion is completely seasonal and, with the exception of grapefruit (Texas) and green tea (China), the fruit is grown locally. Marko begins making extracts from tree-ripened blood oranges and Meyer lemons in early January. In February, he pro- cesses Ruby Red Grapefruit from Texas and, in March, tea leaves from China. Summertime brings red raspberries and fall brings pomegranates. work in Sun Valley’s hotel industry. But he took the family back to Aus- tria for three years when the boys were in grade school. According to Andy, the integra- tion of wine and spirits into the Austrian lifestyle made an impres- sion on the two of them, even at that tender age. By the time they were in college in Idaho, Greg knew he wanted to be a winemaker and Andy was planning a two-year, post-graduation apprenticeship at a 400-year-old family distillery in Aus- tria. The brothers have been oper- ating their winery/distillery in the Sunnyslope area since 1994. Andy’s first distilled products were eau de vie , just like he’d made in Austria. But a little market research spurred the Koenigs to expand their offerings in 2005. “After we started making the eau de vie, we discovered how big the vodka market was,” says Andy. “But there are 800 vodka brands in the United States and we wanted to make something a little more unique.” In Idaho, potato vodka was a no- brainer, but to make his vodka, Andy distilled the potatoes in a tradition- al European still. It was a big hit and, when flavored vodka soon became popular, potato vodka was the base for a new product made from a distinctive Idaho fruit: huckleberries. “Most flavored vodka has engineered flavor- ings,” Andy notes. “So we took it further and decided to use real huckleberries, handpicked.” He hires friends who have a cabin in the mountains near the Snake River. At a midsum- mer camp, they and their friends (who are sworn to secrecy about the location of the huckleberry patch) pick the wild berries until the cabin’s freezer is full of gallon containers. Then the In terms of sales, flavored vodka “pays the bills,” says Marko. “It’s probably 75% to 80% of our volume. That’s about 9,000 to 10,000 cases.” Meyer lemon vodka is the top seller; green tea vodka is second. But there’s a 14th-generation master distiller on the horizon. Marko’s 5-year-old son, Miles, is the next in line to learn the ancient Serbian extraction techniques. And the kid already has a new flavor of vodka picked out. Marko says, “At the age of 4, Miles told me, ‘Da-da, we need to make strawberry vodka because our custom- ers would like it.’ If Miles wants to make a straw- berry vodka, I’ll show him how. I know it will be real, and it will be delicious.” KOENIG VINEYARDS & DISTILLERY Andy and Greg Koenig, of Caldwell Idaho’s Koenig Vineyards & Distillery, also have a European heritage that helped inspire the direction of their careers. Their father, the late Joe Koenig, immigrated from Austria in the 1960s to Koenig Vineyards & Distillery’s Huckleberry Vodka is infused with handpicked huckleberries from Idaho. CRAFT BEVERAGES REPORT Marko and Jenni Karakasevic at the Charbay distillery in Ukiah, Calif., where their infused vodkas are produced. [Photo by Sara Sanger] Charbay’s Meyer Lemon vodka is its top seller. [inset] Recipe Success for BY SUSAN G. HAUSER
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C R A F T B E V E R A G E S R E P O R T
Matthew Rick — found himself in the unique position of having won a regional magazine’s top cocktail award. “And we’re not even a bar!” he says, explaining that the winning chili pepper-infused-vodka concoc-tion was something he served at his tasting room.
Because infused vodkas are the spirit of choice in countless bars (and tasting rooms), we talked to owners of winery/distilleries in
California, Idaho and Wisconsin to learn about their infusing experi-ences. But some details couldn’t be shared. They were trade secrets or, in the case of Charbay, “ancient Serbian extraction techniques.”
CHARBAY ARTISAN DISTILLERY & WINERY
At Charbay Artisan Distil lery & Winery in Mendocino County, Calif., Marko Karakasevic is the family’s 13th-generation wine-maker/distiller. His father, Miles, left Europe in the 1960s as a cer-tif ied enologist and eventually found employment in Napa Valley. In 1983, when Marko was 10, his parents launched Charbay, making both wine and brandy.
In 2009, after a long apprentice-ship, then 36-year-old Marko was made “master distil ler” by his father. The next year, Marko’s beer-based whiskey distilled as an eau de vie snagged the highest rating in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge for American Whiskey.
inery/distilleries dot the coun-try now. They’re run by a new breed that saw not only simi-
larities between winemaking and spirits distillation, but opportunities for expanded sales. Typically, their tasting rooms feature sips of sev-eral wines alongside shots of their own distilled spirits such as whis-key, rum and infused vodka.
One winemaker/distiller in Eau Claire, Wis. — Infinity Beverages’
+ Infused vodkas are top sellers at winery/distilleries.
+ Vodka can be flavored with anything from fresh fruit or vegetables (chili peppers, tea leaves) to beans (vanilla and espresso).
+ Methods for flavoring vodka include steeping, extraction and redistilling fruit macerated in vodka.
+ Distilling is seen by many as a natural progression from winemaking and a profitable means of diversification.
AT A GLANCE
Winery/distilleries’ infused vodkas are top
sellers across the country.
The lineup at Infinity Beverages includes all sorts of infused flavors
and mixing opportunities.
In 1998, Charbay released the first of what would become the company’s top seller: fruit-flavored vodka. Marko, who came up with the idea after noticing several fla-vored vodkas on the shelf at a bar, remembers it as a hard sell.
“My dad’s an artist of flavor,” Marko explains. “He said, ‘We don’t make vodka in our fam-ily. Vodka has no flavor in it.’ But I looked up on the shelf and there was Absolut Citron and Stol i Orange.”
Using the extraction process taught to him by his father, Marko follows the procedure that he ordi-narily would use for making a fruit liqueur. After a three-month pro-cess of creating an extract from fresh-picked fruit, he integrates the extract into a corn- and rye-based vodka that’s custom-made for Char-bay in the Midwest.
The fruit-flavored vodka opera-tion is completely seasonal and, with the exception of grapefruit (Texas) and green tea (China), the fruit is grown locally. Marko begins making extracts from tree-ripened blood oranges and Meyer lemons in early January. In February, he pro-cesses Ruby Red Grapefruit from Texas and, in March, tea leaves from China. Summertime brings red raspberries and fall brings pomegranates.
work in Sun Valley’s hotel industry. But he took the family back to Aus-tria for three years when the boys were in grade school.
According to Andy, the integra-tion of wine and spirits into the Austrian lifestyle made an impres-sion on the two of them, even at that tender age. By the time they were in college in Idaho, Greg knew he wanted to be a winemaker and Andy was planning a two-year, post-graduation apprenticeship at a 400-year-old family distillery in Aus-tria. The brothers have been oper-ating their winery/distillery in the Sunnyslope area since 1994.
Andy’s first distilled products were eau de vie, just like he’d made in Austria. But a little market research spurred the Koenigs to expand their offerings in 2005.
“After we started making the eau de vie, we discovered how big the vodka market was,” says Andy. “But there are 800 vodka brands in the United States and we wanted to make something a little more unique.”
In Idaho, potato vodka was a no-brainer, but to make his vodka, Andy distilled the potatoes in a tradition-
al European still. It was a big hit and, when flavored vodka soon became popular, potato vodka was the base for a new product made from a distinctive Idaho fruit: huckleberries.
“Most flavored vodka has engineered f lavor-ings,” Andy notes. “So we took it further and decided to use real huckleberries, handpicked.” He hires friends who have a cabin in the mountains near the Snake River. At a midsum-mer camp, they and their friends (who are sworn to secrecy about the location of the huckleberry patch) pick the wild berries until the cabin’s freezer is full of gallon containers. Then the
In terms of sales, f lavored vodka “pays the bi l ls ,” says Marko. “It’s probably 75% to 80% of our volume. That’s about 9,000 to 10,000 cases.” Meyer lemon vodka is the top seller; green tea vodka is second.
But there’s a 14th-generation master distiller on the horizon. Marko’s 5-year-old son, Miles, is the next in line to learn the ancient Serbian extraction techniques. And the kid already has a new flavor of vodka picked out.
Marko says, “At the age of 4, Miles told me, ‘Da-da, we need to make strawberry vodka because our custom-ers would like it.’ If Miles wants to make a straw-berry vodka, I’ll show him how. I know it will be real, and it will be delicious.”
KOENIG VINEYARDS & DISTILLERY
Andy and Greg Koenig, of Caldwell Idaho’s Koenig Vineyards & Distillery, also have a European heritage that helped inspire the direction of their careers. Their father, the late Joe Koenig, immigrated from Austria in the 1960s to
Koenig Vineyards & Distillery’s Huckleberry Vodka is infused
with handpicked huckleberries from Idaho.
C R A F T B E V E R A G E S R E P O R T
Marko and Jenni Karakasevic at the Charbay distillery in Ukiah, Calif., where their infused vodkas are produced. [Photo by Sara Sanger] Charbay’s Meyer Lemon vodka is its top seller. [inset]
Recipe Success
for
BY SUSAN G. HAUSER
72 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT | Mar - Apr 2017 www.vwmmedia.com www.vwmmedia.com Mar - Apr 2017 | VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 73
erages, he says, “is to introduce a product that encompasses the food products Wisconsin is known for [think maple syrup, cherries, cran-berries, corn], aged on Wisconsin oak. We’re going to try to make that the spirit of Wisconsin.”
As for vodka, he already sells a product he makes from Midwest-
frozen berries are packed out on mules and delivered to Andy, who drives three hours to pick them up.
He macerates the huckleberries in potato vodka and lets it sit for about six weeks before he redistills the huckleberry vodka to clarify it, then adds it to the potato vodka. The process took some trial and error until he found the right concentra-tion of natural sweetness and fla-vor. And basically, he used the same method he’d learned in Austria, where he’d redistilled raspberries and added them back as flavoring.
The huckleberry vodka took off and soon was the top seller from the distillery, beating out other popular products such as bourbon and rye whiskey. All in all, distillery production is about 25,000 cases, which is the same as at the winery.
“The local food movement has definitely helped,” Andy says. Idaho’s locavores have enthusias-tically embraced both the Idaho potato vodka and the Idaho huckle-berry vodka. Bars all over the state hail the huckleberry martini as the Idaho state cocktail.
INFINITY BEVERAGES
Matthew Rick came up with a similar locavore-influenced idea at his winery/distillery in Eau Claire, Wis. A 2017 goal for Infinity Bev-
ern apples. It’s also the base for Rick’s two infused vodkas, one made with fresh red chile pep-pers and black peppercorns, and another made with whole vanilla beans, sliced lengthwise in two, and fresh-roasted espresso beans (always roasted within 24 hours of infusion).
The Infinity Beverages crew (Matthew Rick is pictured at center) at a “Repeal” party it hosted last November.
C R A F T B E V E R A G E S R E P O R T
options for people. Now we have 15 products.”
Despite his teenage experience with fruit-infused vodkas, Rick abandoned that idea after realizing he needed to offer something more practical, a spirit that could be used in many types of drinks. “I had to look at it hard and ask what were some of the major drinks that peo-ple were making,” he says. “We were looking at what people could have the most versatility with.”
Thus, the chili pepper flavor was chosen because it can spice up vir-tually any drink, especially a Bloody Mary. And the vanilla-coffee vodka would be a smooth addition to any coffee-based drink. “With some-thing like a mandarin orange vodka, there are only so many drinks you can make,” he notes.
Rick says he infuses 40 to 50 gallons of vodka at a time, dropping in a straining bag (like a large tea bag) full of the raw materials and
Rick, whose urban winery/dis-tillery has been operating since 2010, started making wine with his wife while they were in col-lege. But he admits that his last high school years were devoted to experimenting with fruit-infused vodka and other spirits. “I had to find somebody to buy me the alco-hol because I was only 16 to 18 at the time. I wasn’t making anything from scratch, but those infusion tri-als were the beginning of Infinity” he says.
He decided to try his hand at dis-tilling, in addition to winemaking, after observing that the two skills seemed related. “There’s a lot of the same stuff that you do with the winery operation that you’d be doing with the distillery opera-tion,” Rick says. “With the distill-ery operation, you have to ferment it before you can distill it. There’s a lot of overlap, even regulation-wise. And you certainly can offer more
allowing them to steep naturally, without ever using extracts or arti-ficial flavors. To determine the cor-rect quantities, he did 10 to 15 trials of one-bottle batches.
Rick’s infused vodkas have been available for the last two years, but it wasn’t until 2016 that they became his best sellers, putting his beer-based whiskeys in sec-ond place. He also has an entire experimental line, small batches of creations such as cocoa-infused Riesling, Syrah wine aged in whis-key barrels and whiskey aged on charred cherry wood.
“We’re becoming known for our liquid innovation,” he says.
Susan G. Hauser writes from Port-land, Ore., where she’s a regular contributor to Alaska Airlines Maga-zine and other publications.
Comments? Please e-mail us at [email protected].
C R A F T B E V E R A G E S R E P O R T
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DISTILLATION EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLY COMPANIESACI Cork USA 707-426-3566 www.acicorkusa.com Products: Cork
AFTEK 800-240-5366 www.aftekfilters.com Products: Filtration
All American Containers 707-838-8864 www.aacwine.com Products: Packaging
Amcor Flexibles 707-257-6481 www.amcor.com Products: Capsules and Packaging
Amorim Cork America 707-224-6000 www.amorimca.com Products: Cork
Anton Paar USA 804-550-1051 www.anton-paar.com Products: Analytical and Laboratory Instruments
Bruni Glass USA East Coast 800-771-7856 www.bruniglass.com Products: Glass Packaging
Bruni Glass USA West Coast 877-278-6445 www.bruniglass.com Products: Glass Packaging
BSG Distilling 800-374-2739 www.bsgdistilling.com Products: Distilling Ingredients
Canton Cooperage 707-843-4407 www.cantoncooperage.com Products: Barrels
CF Napa Brand Design 707-265-1891 www.cfnapa.com Products: Brand Design
Criveller 707-431-2211 www.criveller.com Products: Equipment
Custom Metalcraft 417-862-0707 www.custom-metalcraft.com Products: Custom Distilling Equipment
Della Toffola USA 707-544-5300 www.dellatoffola.us Products: Bottling, Filtering, Equipment
Demptos Napa Cooperage 707-257-2628 www.demptosusa.com Products: Barrels
Diablo Valley Packaging (a division of Berlin Packaging)
800-839-4680 www.dvpackaging.com Products: Containers
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Elite Label 408-761-2142 www.elitelabel.com Products: Labels
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Enoplastic USA 707-207-7904 www.cecapsules.comProducts: Capsules and Screwcaps
ETS Laboratories 707-963-4806 www.etslabs.com Products: Analytical Services
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G3 Enterprises 800-321-8747 www.g3enterprises.com Products: Packaging, Oak Alts, Closures, Labels, Supply Chain Services
G&D Chillers, Inc. 800-555-0973 www.gdchillers.com Products: Chillers
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Global Package 707-224-5670 www.globalpackage.net Products: Glass Packaging
Gusmer Enterprises 559-485-2692 www.gusmerenterprises.com Products: Equipment and Processing Aids
Independent Stave Company 417-588-4151 www.independentstavecompany.com Products: Barrels, Oak Alts
Janson Capsules 707-256-3957 www.jansoncapsules.com Products: Capsules
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MBF North America 844-71-8182 www.mbfnorthamerica.com Products: Bottling Equipment
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O-I 567-336-5000 www.o-i.com Products: Glass
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Ramondin USA 707-944-2277 www.ramondin.es/en Products: Capsules
SaverGlass 707-259-2930 www.saverglass.com/en Products: Glass
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Scott Laboratories 707-765-6666 www.scottlab.com Products: Fermentation Products and Equipment, Packaging, Lab Services
Silver State Stainless 775-246-1180 www.silverstatestainless.com Products: Tanks
Skolnik Industries 800-441-8780 www.skolnik.com Products: Steel Drums
Spokane Industries 800-541-3601 www.spokaneindustries.com Products: Tanks
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Tapp Label Company 707-252-8300 www.tapplabel.com Products: Labels
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The Oak Cooperage 660-456-7227 www.theoak.com Products: Barrels
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The Vintner’s Vault 805-226-8100 www.thevintnervault.com Products: Full Line of Tanks, Stills and Equipment
Virginia Dare 718-788-1776 www.virginiadare.com Products: Flavorings
Waterloo Container 888-539-3922 www.waterloocontainer.com Products: Glass Packaging, Closures
Watermark Labels 209-370-1616 www.watermarklabels.com Products: Labels
Westec Tank & Equipment Co.707-431-9342 www.westectank.com Products: Tanks and Equipment
Western Square 800-367-8383 www.westernsquare.com Products: Barrel Racks
White Labs 888-593-2785 www.whitelabs.com Products: Yeast
Wright Global Graphics 800-678-9019 www.wrightglobalgraphics.com Products: Labels
