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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’.

Carpenè Malvolti – Sparkling wine specialist with a sideline in distillates

In 1868, Antonio Carpenè laid the foundations for the internationally successful company it is today. The champagne enthusiast was convinced that he would be able to produce a similar cult beverage with the local Glera grape, harvested from the wine hills around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. That this has been accomplished for almost 145 years is confirmed by the huge popularity of the sparkling wines and the high export percentage of 56%. Although 5% of production is of distillates in the form of brandy and grappa, they only form a small segment of the business next to the 95% made up of sparkling products. However, they are just as successful due to the long experience in the distillation industry since 1868.

In 1972, Etile Carpenè joined the company and became the fourth generation to take over its management. He has always had the same passion for the mixture of tradition and progress, as well as being the great innovative impulse behind the continuous success of the company. The company’s headquarters are located in the famous wine town of Conegliano in Veneto, about 40 kilometres to the north of Venice. A second winery is in Follina in the middle of the Valdobbiadene region. Here, besides the well-known DOCG Prosecco Superiore, distillates are also manufactured, and they are only released onto the market after a long maturing period in oak barrels.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Brandy 15 anni, and silver for Grappa di Prosecco.

Kaufmann Spirits: Distilled in the mountains

“I’ve always had a passion for distilling schnapps and decided to perfect my skills of the trade by training to be a fine brandy sommelier.” Wolfgang Kaufmann’s first own distillates were first sold in 2014 and are now known and appreciated beyond the borders. Only single-variety fruits of top quality – cultivated naturally, harvested fully mature, selected and washed by hand – are processed into 100% distillates. The ‘aroma of the mountains, distilled in the mountains’ is reflected in Mountain Gin, Mountain Rum and Mountain Whisky. The name stands for its unique and somewhat rough touch – a special highlight among connoisseurs. Furthermore, there are liqueurs and spirits as well as fruit spreads.

In Mühlberg Rem people see themselves as ambassadors of good taste and offer guests a very special place with the first open distillery in Ellmau to look behind the scenes of distilling here. The brandies made here can also be tasted in a relaxed atmosphere whilst their properties are explained. It is especially important to Wolfgang Kaufmann to offer a special experience and to convey traditional drinking culture.

The World Class Distillery 2022 received double gold for Elsbeerbrand (wild serviceberry brandy), gold for Vogelbeere Holzfass (rowanberry from the wooden barrel), Traubenbrand Gelber Muskateller (grape brandy), Johannisbeerbrand (blackcurrant brandy), Mountain Gin, Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Weichselbrand (sour cherry brandy) and Weißbierbrand Holz (beer brandy, wood). Silver was awarded to Brombeerbrand (blackberry brandy) and Vogelbeerbrand (rowanberry brandy).