Fiery Drink for a Cold Winter's Night

Who needs a fireplace when you can gather up a few of your favorite books and a snifter of eau de vie, a unique distilled beverage with a hint of pears, apples, plums or cherries? One sip will banish the chill from the damp, cold winter. My friends Bob and Kathie Mazza and their son Mario of Mazza Chautauqua Cellars in Mayville, NY, issued their first release over Labor Day weekend, but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to break open the delicate wax seal on the tall, slender bottle they gave me as a gift. 

Picked at the moment of peak ripeness, the best regionally grown fruits from the southern shore of Lake Erie have been gently crushed and concentrated in Mazza’s two-story, hand-crafted, copper pot still imported from Germany, then bottled as “eau de vie,” a French term for a distinct class of spirits that, translated, means “the essence of life.”

Popular in Europe since the 17th century, eau de vie has only in recent years been introduced in the United States. Unlike brandy, which is distilled and aged for many months and even years, often in oak barrels, eau de vie is meant to be sipped while it is still “young” so that you can enjoy its lively, fresh-fruit aroma. 

Visitors to Mazza Chautauqua Cellars can sample the three different varieties of eau de vie for a nominal fee, refundable upon purchase of one bottle or more. Tempting slices of cheesecake and other sweets are available in a café that eau de vie is often paired with desserts.

Mazza Chautauqua Cellars' distillery and café is the latest in a long line of innovations by vintner Bob Mazza and his family. Located on a five-acre property that includes an outdoor terrace, pond, and beautifully landscaped grounds, Mazza Chautauqua Cellars evokes the European countryside.

Expanding into New York was a natural,” says Bob, who established Mazza Vineyards with his wife Kathie in North East, Pa., in 1972 and has longstanding relationships with area fruit growers.

Mazza Vineyards was the first Pennsylvania winery to pioneer ice wine, a rare and distinct wine that results from pressing grapes while they are still frozen. The winery also broke new ground with its line of sherry and port, opening new markets for Mazza and other Pennsylvania wineries interested in producing fortified after dinner wines.

Now the Mazzas' son Mario is infusing the business with fresh, new ideas like eau de vie.

Mario returned to the family business in December 2005 after earning a master's degree in enology and viticulture at the University of Adelaide in Australia and an engineering degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. For two years he worked alongside some of Australia's most innovative winegrowers in the Barossa Valley, where eau de vie and brandy-making are an important part of an expanding wine-growing industry. 

Mazza Chautauqua Cellars will also be importing wine from Australia and producing their own line of brandies, to be released in 2007.

Mazza Chautauqua Cellars' distillery and café is located less than half a mile from the entrance to Chautauqua Institution—a fabulous center for the arts, entertainment, education and religion that until only recently did not permit alcoholic beverages in its restaurants. Also nearby is Peek 'n Peak Ski Resort, which right now has plenty of snow despite the mild winter. For info and Mazza's wine list, call 716-269-3000.