pomace brandy is a spirit made by distilling the mass of skins, seeds, pulp, and often stems left over after grapes have been crushed so that their juice can be drawn off for fermentation into wine (“pomace” is also sometimes applied to the leftovers of cider making, which are equally distillable). Wine lees and water are also sometimes added to the pomace. Pomace brandies are generally pot-distilled.
Farmers and winemakers have been distilling their pomace since at least the eighteenth century. The resulting spirit, a product of thrift and necessity, has generally had the reputation of being rather rough and fiery; a “country” spirit, rather than a city one (in 1787, the French distiller and physician Pierre-François Nicolas dubbed it “ordinarily disagreeable, with a scorched aroma”). In part this is no doubt due to its production by people who were not primarily distillers, but the nature of the raw materials—with less sugars and more oils, tannins, and other complex organic compounds than in the pure juice—must have something to do with that as well, along with the traditional practice of burying the pomace until the winemaking season was over and only then distilling it.
The majority of pomace brandies are made in Europe, although apple pomace brandy was formerly made in the eastern United States as well. European versions include bagaceira (Portugal), orujo (Spain), marc (France), grappa (Italy), Treberschnaps and Testerbrand (Germany), trepinovec (Slovenia), törkölypálinka (Hungary), some kinds of rakija (Serbia), and tsipouro (Greece). They are also found in Georgia, as chacha, and as far east as Kyrgyzstan. They are also made by a number of craft distillers in the United States. See bagaçeira; chacha; and orujo.
Modern pomace brandy making is generally more sanitary and less rough and ready than in years past, with many examples being carefully distilled and well aged. Italy in particular has brought its grappa to a high level of sophistication. See grappa. In general, EU regulations require that pomace spirit be distilled to no higher than 86 percent ABV and bottled at no less than 37.5 percent alcohol by volume (and rarely exceeding 54 percent). No flavoring or additional alcohol can be added. Some countries, such as Italy, add further regulations.
The EU also allows for “fruit marc spirits,” which are pomace brandies made with the leftover pulp and such of other fruits, either individually or combined. Stone fruits are the most common, but apple pomace is also distilled (as it was formerly in the United States). Fruit marc spirits can be high in methanol, urethane, and other toxic compounds, particularly if the pomace incudes the cracked pits of the fruit.
Nicolas, Pierre-François. Manuel du distillateur d’eau de vie. Excerpted in Journal de médecine, de chirurgie, et de pharmacie, March 1787, 531–532.
Owens, Bill, Alan Dikty, and Andrew Faulkner, eds. The Art of Distilling, rev. ed. Beverly, MA: Quarto, 2019.
By: Doug Frost