Tidings Magazine

Newest in the lineup is a long-awaited, quite complex-tasting Aquavit. Even though at press time, the liquor-store listing was still pending, the level of interest (especially from the province’s Danish community) was high, and advance orders have been pouring in. Next up is an absinthe, based on the Swiss fruit-alcohol recipe, which should come to the market mid-fall.

How curious that it’s taken so long for a spirits industry to emerge from the fertile ground of the Okanagan wine and tree-fruit industry. Or is it? For years, successive governments protected the major distillers (who tend to make little more than budget knockoffs of international quality sprits) from the remotest hint of any competition, making it all but impossible for smaller producers to start up. Recently, though, that’s changed: new legislation permits wineries to add a simple distilling licence to their regular fee for just $500.

Deiter’s can-do attitude served him well in establishing Western Canada’s first new distillery in many years. In fact, the start-up (which included having the government vet his business plan) wasn’t that hard. It was the aftermath that prompted the real challenge. Deiter didn’t realize that because of the high alcohol content, liquor stores would be the sole avenue through which he could sell.

“I had no clue that as a distillery we could not sell directly to licensees — such as restaurants or liquor retailers,” says Deiter. However, things are looking up, with about 45 BC Liquor stores now carrying his products. The company has also received approval to ship into the lucrative Alberta market.

With no shortage of support on hand for the booming BC wine industry, the distiller says it’s curious that local wineries may ship their product by the case directly to restaurants but his company (which, in the case of grappa, is “recycling” discarded wine-grape skins) cannot. However, that situation may yet soon change as even a traditionally cautious bureaucracy is examining the benefits of expanding licensing for fruit wineries to allow them to distill fruit brandies.

Then there’s the question of rain-damaged crop. This year is a case in point, says Deiter.

“In the cherry region, they lost some 70 per cent of the harvest, and no one else can take it because there is no other manufacturer around.”

In the meantime, not one to sit on his laurels, Deiter is mentoring others. Recently he helped Vancouver Island’s Winchester Cellars import and install its still. Winemaker Ken Winchester is one of the best, says Deiter. “You can tell, because when we distilled his Pinot Noir, you could stand right beside the still. And that’s not always possible with the amount of sulphur that some wines release.”

Another newcomer benefiting from Deiter’s expertise is the island’s Merridale Cidery, which will concentrate on apple brandy. Deiter says he’s there only to help and to guide quality with — above all — his clean, pure fruit style. “What everyone does is up to them. I just want to make sure they understand good from bad. Ninety-five per cent of Europe has decided to make cheap stuff, but then there’s the other five per cent we can learn from and maintain our standards.”

“I’m all for supporting local product,” he says. “But only if it’s as good as or better than anything imported.”

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