Meet the Maker of GINette

MEET THE MAKER: JEAN-PAUL ZUSSLIN

Our very first Box (December 2018) featured GINette gin. Jean-Paul Zusslin and his sister Marie are the 13th generation to run Domaine Valentin Zusslin, an award-winning organic and biodynamic winery, nestled in the small village of Orschwihr in the heart of the Alsatian vineyard. Their family-run winery is renowned for its award-winning Crémants, Rieslings and Pinot Noirs. 

Proudly following in his grandfather's footsteps, Jean-Paul is not only a passionate winemaker, but also a passionate distiller. He began making gin in the spring of 2018 using the rare and "not-so-sexy" practice, as he put it, of distilling an alcohol from a natural by-product of their aging and fermentation. wines: lees (i.e. dead yeast cells). After the lees are distilled into alcohol, the organic juniper berries and the main plants, such as cardamom, ginger, bergamot and lemon zest, are all macerated separately in alcohol, then mixed and distilled a second time. . The final alcohol is a fresh tasting organic gin that was produced in four batches, resulting in an amount of approximately 500 liters. 

Jean-Paul explained that being a destemmer is a bit like being a perfumer; the big difference is that it uses wine materials, which gives more structure, more aromatic diversity. He noted that his gin is very different (and we think it is much better) from gins made with neutral industrial alcohol. GINette is a true labor of love that must be appreciated and savored, just like the great wines of Zusslin.