The SOMM Journal

April / May 2018

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THERE'S NO DOUBT that the farm-to-table movement has trans- formed the face of the restaurant business and, in turn, the purchas- ing decisions we make today. Our demand for sustainably-sourced, high-quality ingredients has inspired thousands of artisanal products, especially within the beer, wine, and food industries. Yet one could argue that the demand for craft spirits is still in its infancy, with an emphasis placed more on brand name or reputation than ingredients sourced. In an effort to prioritize the latter, Bois - set Collection Vintner/Proprietor Jean-Charles Boisset created JCB Spirits, a new line of limited-edition vodkas and gin made not only from grapes from the famed Côte d'Or in Burgundy, but from the region's highly-prized wine. "I've always thought that whatever you eat and drink, the essence is coming from Mother Nature—from the soil, the roots," explains Boisset. "My 'aha moment' was when I tasted spirits and thought, they've got to come from wine. We've got to be the ones doing it, setting a new trend, and talking about what they're made from." Boisset Collection, which owns more than 25 wineries and vine - yards throughout Burgundy and California, embarked on its laborious endeavor to produce spirits from wine 15 years ago. The company began harvesting grapes throughout France solely for the purpose of making spirits and experimented with many varieties, including Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache, Marsanne, and Roussanne. "Our goal was to create that je ne sais quoi of delicacy—that absolutely phenomenal elixir that you'd want to have all the time," recalls Boisset. As they struggled to attain that desired delicacy, Boisset and his colleagues regrouped at their offices in Burgundy and, given their location, decided to change their approach and get back to basics: They'd focus on making wine that could stand on its own, rather than pressuring themselves to produce the elusive "ideal" base for a spirit. The change in approach hardly amounted to taking a shortcut. Boisset says his team tinkered with the ratio of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for years, even attempting to distill the wines separately before blending them later to determine the optimal ratio. For some time, the results were "disjointed," Bois - set recalls, until the perfect balance was found—coincidentally, in nearly equal parts—to form the base of the four spirit releases. "We had the luxury of time— we never rushed to make this," explains Boisset. "The wait here has been so exciting, because we're finally releasing it!" Each JCB Spirits bottle exhibits a jewel around the neck with a diamond cut on both sides. { SOMMjournal.com } 5 The JCB Spirits lineup includes a London Dry–style gin infused with 44 botanicals, including wild herbs grown in Boisset's Biodynamically- farmed vineyards and gardens.

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