“I live from schnapps, but whiskey is my hobby and my passion,” says Thomas Schmalwieser (44). Grain distilling has a long tradition in this country, which the distiller is reviving.
Schnaps has been distilled on the farm in Herrenschützing for generations. “I’ve been working in the distillery since I was able to walk,” says Schmalwieser. He has been running the farm for over 15 years and the commercial distillery since 2016. For this he gave up the cattle business, and the barn became the new distillery and sales room in 2018.
Schmalwieser runs his company alone, with only family support. He is still on fire with his father, whose experience he is always happy to fall back on.
With his distillery, the 44-year-old not only produces and sells grain and fruit brandies, but also fruit liqueurs, barrique brandies, cider, gin, absinthe, pumpkin seed oil and pickled raspberries. Above all, whiskey is close to his heart. The spirit, made from grain and aged in wooden barrels, has been produced on his farm for almost 25 years now. He had an experienced barrel maker make a barrel out of Mühlviertler oak. “You need a lot of experience,” says Brenner. “I am certainly not yet at the end of my experiences.”
Quality and tradition are top priorities for Schmalwieser – two attributes that connect him to the Attnang trade fair. The burner achieves quality through a lot of manual work and strict selection. “We only burn what grows and matures here,” says Thomas Schmalwieser.
The distiller from Herrenschützing will be there for the first time at the 20th “Wine & Culinary” trade fair. There you can taste all his brandies and liqueurs, but also gin and especially whiskey. “My distillery” offers a workshop on May 7th for anyone who wants to gain an insight into the art of distilling: from mashing to distilling, the participants learn about distilling schnapps. Information at www.meine-brennerei.at
30 winegrowers are there
At the 20th “Wine & Culinary” trade fair, the grape juice is of course in the foreground. 30 winegrowers from Austria and Italy and, for the first time, from France and from the Moselle serve their droplets. The offer is rounded off by French and local cuisine. There is also an exquisite offer for beer drinkers. On Friday “Aunt Emma’s Combo” will play for entertainment, on Saturday Jürgen Höchtl, known as JJ King, will be on stage.
The 20th “Wine & Culinary” trade fair is open on Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight in the Attnang-Puchheim leisure centre.
Pleasure packages are waiting
At the 20th trade fair for wine and culinary delights, OÖ Nachrichten is giving away three gourmet boxes, each containing six bottles of wine and a Spitz brandy, to its readers. Participation is very simple: send an e-mail to OÖNachrichten voecklabruck@nachrichten.at (deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 6, 10 a.m.). The lucky winners will be notified in writing.
Source: Nachrichten
