Grappa and pear eau de vie made in northern Michigan. Photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman.
I’ve recently returned from inspiring days at
Pigstock, in
Traverse City, Michigan, where I and my partner in
Salumi,
Brian Polcyn, were invited to participate in a
celebration of the pig. But we also got to sample wines and spirits made from the abundant fruit that grows in this unique climate.
I have, since I first imbibed the crystal elixir, bowed before
eau de vie, the aptly named water of life. My first vision of it was in the 1970s when my Uncle Lars arrived at our house with a gift of
Poire Williams for my father; astonishingly, there was a pear
inside the bottle. I did not get to drink ...
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