Rural Missouri - December 2021 - 21

From a 250-square-foot distillery in Marthasville, Martin and his wife, Lynn DeLean-Weber, produce six fruit brandies known as vinars.
by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
lingering after the meal is fi nished.
T
he Alps are a long way from Missouri's Rhineland,
but on the Marthasville farm of Martin Weber and
wife, Lynn DeLean-Weber, a special elixir brings the
magic of the Old World to Missouri.
Martin, a native of Graubünden, Switzerland, missed
the distinctive fruit brandies, known as vinars, of his
homeland. When a friend lent the Cuivre River Electric Cooperative
members a 7-gallon copper pot still, they wasted
no time. Nine years later, the husband and wife produce
award-winning vinars from a 250-square-foot
distillery. The end result is pure on the palate,
but the process is far from simple.
" My husband is a mechanical engineer and
he's Swiss on top of it; only that combination
could make it work, " Lynn says with a laugh.
Bearing their Swiss Romansh names, the six
fruit brandies - pear, apple, grape, cherry, plum
and apricot - are the most common varieties.
Different from liquors where fl avoring and sugar
" In Switzerland when someone brings out a bottle of vinars
distilled from their own fruit, it's a real sign of pride, "
Lynn says. " It's an invitation to linger. That's when the
evening begins. "
Marthasville
Vinars production begins with ripe fruit. Apples and
grapes come from orchards and vineyards in Missouri,
while the rest is imported from the West Coast where
growing conditions are more favorable. Most of the year,
you can fi nd Martin and Lynn across the cutting board
from each other, grading, pitting and chopping whatever
happens to be in season. In the fall, for instance, they'll
hand process 1,600 pounds of apples. Anywhere from
8 to 12 pounds of fruit make a single bottle of brandy.
" It all starts and ends with fruit, " Lynn says. " If
you don't have good fruit, you can't make up for it
with distilling. "
After the fruit is shredded, Martin adds yeast
to the pulp and juice. This mash ferments for
anywhere from fi ve weeks to up to 10 months
before being distilled.
are sometimes added to the base spirit, vinars recreate the
entire fruit in alcohol form. The skin, fl esh and even the
stems in the case of grapes add an aroma or fl avor note to
the fi nished product. In addition to capturing each fruit's
essence, Lynn and Martin also seek to pass on the culture
of enjoying the spirits which Lynn refers to as the art of
" The key on fruit brandy is the slower you run,
the more the aromas and fl avors come out, " Martin says.
" The challenge is being careful where you make your cuts. "
Edelbrand double distills its spirits, with the fi rst run
pulling the alcohol from the mash. During the second run,
which can take between 10 and 12 hours, Martin closely
DECEMBER 2021 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 21

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Rural Missouri - December 2021

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