Brandy Peak Distillery
Do you remember the joy of being a kid and going on a field trip? Well, a visit to Brandy Peak Distillery is the grown-ups’ version of a field trip.
There are only a handful of distilleries in the United States that start out with premium wine grapes and distill them into brandy. We’re not talking spirits in the sense of vodka, whiskey, or gin. Those spirits rely on grains to produce high-octane booze. No, we’re talking brandy made from grapes or other fruits.
In France, this drink is referred to as Cognac, so named for the region where it is produced. Here in the United States, it goes by its generic name, brandy, and our field trip today takes us to Brandy Peak Distillery. The distillery is located outside the beach town of Brookings, near the California border. Ironically, there really is a mountain in the area with the name Brandy Peak, so it was only natural to call this “winery” Brandy Peak Distillery.
David Nowlin, Brandy Peak’s distillery guru, leads tours through the facility, explaining the brandy-making process. He shows the wood-fired pots developed by his gifted father, R.L. Nowlin, and demonstrates how a small percentage of the original liquid is condensed and captured as a distillate. Fortunately for us, some dude in the Middle Ages figured out that alcohol has a much lower boiling point than water. Therefore, there’s no need to heat the “mash” to boiling before the alcohol vents off. But for brandy, a whole lot more fruit is required than for traditional wine. Tons more.
The tour continues from the outside wood-fired pots to the inside barrel room, where the brandy is aged in oak for varying lengths of time. The color of the brandy is dependent upon barrel aging, with the more golden-colored “marc” brandies aged longer. The product is usually sold in 375 ml bottles. In the tasting room, visitors can sample pinot noir, muscat, gewürztraminer, riesling, and sauvignon blanc brandies. In addition, Brandy Peak’s popular pear brandy, made from 100 percent Bartlett pears, is a wonderful surprise — layers of flavor, subtle pear notes, and a great finish. David is quick to point out that Brandy Peak Distillery uses no artificial flavors or colorings for its brandies. He also makes a liqueur that we were told does involve the addition of a natural flavoring. Can you say “blackberry liqueur”? Yup. Don’t end your field trip without a taste of Brandy Peak’s blackberry liqueur. Yummy.
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Brandy Peak Distillery was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Oregon Coast WineTrail on page !
