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Feldfrucht Agrar: Controlled quality from an old entailed estate

Werner, Christine, Franz and Eva Lehner live and work on an old entailed estate. They know from documents that both the building and the family history go back to 1620. Presumably it has been in existence for much longer, although there is no written record. The thinking in terms of generations and the demand for sustainability also determine the type of land usage, which is environmentally friendly, suited to the location and in harmony with nature. Tradition, a close bond with the earth, as well as the courage to innovate have made the vegetable farm a strong partner for gastronomy and food retailing. The enterprise is a member of the “Wasserbauern” association, in order to set targeted measures for preserving water quality.

Production is according to the EUREP-GAP programme. On the one hand it is more costly, on the other it guarantees the best and most reliable food quality. This should be an incentive for the consumer to buy Austrian products. The products flourish on the deep, fruitful earth at the heart of Leonding in Upper Austria. The main products are sweetcorn (since 1986) and pumpkin (since 1999). In addition, there is a wholesale business with all kinds of vegetables, developed from over 50 years of successful cultivation. A trademark of the enterprise has always been specialities and novelties first in vegetable cultivation and later also in trade. The customers include gastronomy, homes and hospitals, where the controlled quality is valued.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Roots Sweet Potato Vodka.

Eifel-Destillerie: Herbal specialities from Eifel

In 1925, Peter-Josef Hubert Schütz and his sons set up a Korn distillery, run by a standing high-pressure steam boiler which was heated with coal. This was replaced by an oil-heated steam boiler in 1969 and the current high-speed steam generator was installed in 1989, with lower energy consumption and less heating time needed for the required steam pressure. Since 1998, Peter-Josef Schütz has been running the company and continuing its success. His philosophy is to “create enthralling products for our customers with natural ingredients and top-level art of distilling”.

Since the foundation of the company, spirits have been produced from the distilled alcohol, initially from Korn (grain) and double-Korn, double-juniper and ‘Schütz Boonekamp’. ‘Eifelgeist’, the speciality of the company made from 42 select herbs, was registered as a protected trademark in 1949. Herbal spirits then became the focus of the product range of high-quality liqueurs and brandies. Using Eifel in the name underlines the appreciation of the region it calls home. A valuable contributor to product diversity is the distillery’s ‘herb chamber’. Here, over 100 medicinal herbs, blossoms, seeds, barks and roots from all around the world are stored in wooden containers.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Raspberry Liqueur, Eifelgold and Eifelgeist, and silver to Bitto. Werner Gin (a product made of vermouth from Weinmanufaktur Ellermann-Spiegel in Kleinfischlingen) also received gold.

Luding Group: Vodka Tchaikovsky as a high-spirited homage to the famous composer

At the beginning of the 1990s, the modern distillery ‘Fortuna’ was launched in a green field in the south of Russia – in the Krasnodar region, a strip of land with spa resorts and health centres. The distillery has specialised in unusual products, in a region with a particularly green fingerprint. The vodka created in honour of the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky is special. The concept for this exceptional product is comparable with one of his musical scores: the work ‘Swan Lake’ served as an inspiration. Art enthusiasts can thus immerse themselves in the history of Russian estate life in the 19th century. The traditional white and blue colours underline the purity of this vodka.

The technical particularities span a wide quality-orientated spectrum: from the selected wheat, their own well water and the special treatment of the distillate with skimmed milk powder to the crystal-clear filtration with active birch coal. With so much perfectionism and monitoring of the individual production steps, the result is an especially gentle, animating and very typical vodka based on wheat. After the diluting of alcohol and pure distillate, the production process is continued with maturation in steel tanks. The aim is to ‘wed’ both ‘waters’, resulting in an especially harmonious vodka.

At the World Spirits Award 2022, Vodka Tchaikovsky was awarded double gold and honoured as the best vodka with the title ‘Spirit of the Year’.

Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

At the World Spirits Award, there was Gold for Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey and Boyle’s Gin, and Silver for Boyle’s Sloe & Damson Gin and Ardfallen Whiskey.