Pear wine?- it's name? where do I find it?

[curlyq]

A while ago I saw a cable special about a wine that perhaps is grown/made in California, where pears are actually grown inside each bottle of wine. And at bottling time, they snip the branch and leave a whole pear in the wine. Does anyone know the name of this? and or how to find it? I've searched all over the internet, and came up with nothing thus far.

[This message has been edited by curlyq (edited 06-08-2000).]

[Innkeeper]

For the very best pear wine in the whole wide world (providing you like real wine and not tooty fruity) call:

Bartlett Maine Estate Winery
Gouldsboro, Maine
(207) 546-2408

[mrdutton]

I think the cable show you saw was Epicurious and unless I am mistaken the vineyard was in France, not in California.

Either that or you saw a show very similar in nature to the one I saw.

Try www.epicurious.com for getting source information on the wine. It was a very interesting process and sounded like a wonderful wine for dessert.

[Zinner]

Didn't see the show, but I think it's likely that what you're looking for is not a pear wine, but an Eau-de-Vie, traditional to the Alsace region of France.

Here in the USA, Clear Creek Distillery in Oregon makes one and if you go to the web site at www.clearcreekdistillery.com, you will find complete info along with photos of the process.

Good luck! Hope this is what you want.

[mrdutton]

Well I got my wires crossed a little bit. The show was on Epicurious but it was about the Clear Creek Distillery in Oregon. That is a fair distance from France, for sure. However, the owner of the distillery noticed the technique of growing pears inside the bottles when he was on a trip to France.

He started his Eau-de-Vie production around 1985 or so. Kind of unique, anyway. A bottle of Brandy with a whole pear inside the bottle! Not inexpensive, a 750ml bottle costs about $80.00.

[Zinner]

Hi Mr. D,

It's true the Clear Creek products aren't cheap, but the ones I've had are top notch in quality.

I think the price of the pear-in-bottle is driven up by the uncertainty of production. If a bee gets trapped in the bottle or if a pear doesn't form perfectly, they can't use it. It's a labor intensive and chance-y sort of endeavor. But lovely to see!