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Gölles Schnappesbrennerai
DISTILLERY OVERVIEW
The Gölles family has been cultivating orchards in the sunny hill country around Austria’s
Riegersburg Castle for four generations. Since the beginning of the 1980s, they have
specialized in manufacturing fine vinegars and premium spirits by hand. Using the highest
quality ingredients results in dense and robust schnapps, and this quest for prime fruit is also
at the heart of their commitment to cultivating exceedingly rare fruit varieties.
To this end, orchards have been replanted with these old varieties. Since 1990, thousands of
these rarities – like the saubirne (“sow” pear) and maschansker apple – have been planted.
While state-of-the-art technology is employed to transform these and other high-quality
products into the fine spirits, the crucial factor remains the experience of Alois Gölles and
his team.
DISTILLING PHILOSOPHY
Since 1979 Gölles has produced its brandies using only the finest, cleanest, and ripest fruit,
without adding sugar, flavors or coloring. They still use copper vessels for the traditional
double distillation process.
Fresh, fully ripened fruit needs to be processed as quickly as possible to produce a high-
quality distillate, so from July to November, the distillery is constantly in use. Once it has been
washed and sorted, the fruit is crushed, before the stems, seeds and pits are removed. It is
then transferred into large stainless-steel tanks for fermentation at temperatures between
62°F and 66°F (17° and 19°C). After 1-2 weeks the natural fruit sugar will have fermented to
produce alcohol. Once this process is complete, the mash is distilled in copper vessels.
Owned by:
Alois Gölles
Master Distiller:
Alois Gölles
Founded in:
1979
Region:
Styria (Steiermark)
Country:
Austria
Spirits:
Gölles, Apricot Brandy
Gölles, Cherry Brandy
Gölles, Old Plum Brandy
Gölles, Williams Pear Brandy
DISTILLERIES
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