Mazza Chautauqua Cellars

The Distillery at Mazza Chautauqua Cellars

Established in 2005 and opened in 2006, the distillery at Mazza Chautauqua Cellars is the first in the region.  The hand-crafted Christian Carl copper pot still was imported from Germany and is designed specifically for the production of artisan spirits such as Eau de Vie and Grappa.  The pot has a capacity of 400 liters (approximately 105 gallons) and is heated using a steam jacket.  The copper column can be used to produce high proof alcohol in a single pass for the production of fortification spirits, or it can be bypassed as in the production of Grappa and Eau de Vie.  Cooling water for the condenser is drawn from the pond, and returned via a ground well system that dissipates the heat before it reaches the pond.

How distillation works…

Distillation is a process that separates compounds based on their volatility or ease with which they vaporize.  In the case of alcoholic spirits production we capitalize on the difference in boiling points between water and ethanol.  Since ethanol boils at a lower temperature than water, we concentrate the alcohol by applying heat, in the form of steam, to a base wine or mash to produce a distillate that is higher in alcohol than the material originally charged into the still.

The schematic shows the arrangement of the still at Mazza Chautauqua Cellars which is a 400 liter capacity copper pot still with 4 plate rectifying column made by Christian Carl in Germany.  Material to be distilled is loaded, or charged, into the pot through the manway.  Heat is applied to the pot using a steam boiler in conjunction with a steam jacket that surrounds the pot.  The alcoholic vapors rise through the helmet and into the column of the still.  As the vapors work their way up the column the alcohol becomes more concentrated as condensate forms and drips back down towards the pot.  Some of the vapor condenses when it reaches the condenser or dephleglamator.  The remaining alcoholic vapor reaches the condenser, which turns it back into a liquid by cooling it with water recycled from our pond.

Distillate is collected in three fractions.  The first fraction, or cut, is known as the foreshot or heads and contains aldehydes and other low boiling compounds that are undesirable in the final product.  The middle cut, known as the main run or hearts is high in alcohol (typically around 85%) and is used for the final products.  The final cut, or tails, contains high boilers and fusel oils and is collected for later re-distillation to collect more hearts.