Region & History

Ask around Valais for Williamine and most locals mean pear brandy made from Williams pears. Legally, though, the word is a registered trademark of Distillerie Louis Morand & Cie SA in Martigny, not an appellation of origin. The protected name for Valais pear brandy is Eau-de-vie de poire du Valais AOP, registered on 21 December 2001.

The Morand house dates back to 1889. Louis Morand was 22 at the time and opened his distillery in Martigny-Combe, first alongside his brother Auguste, then a year later under his own name. He distilled grape pomace and produced absinthe, génépi and liqueurs, along with the Bon Valaisan made from juniper and gentian, and a liqueur based on a recipe from the hospice at the Great St Bernard Pass. After his early death in 1921, his 26-year-old son André took over the business, according to the house's own account.

The pear was the most important fruit in Valais until the 19th century. The Williams variety became dominant in the early 20th century largely because it was so well suited to distilling.

Both Valais spirit AOPs require that fruit growing, storage, fermentation, distillation and bottling all take place within the canton. The Abricotine, the apricot brandy, was registered on 6 January 2003. Switzerland recognises four spirit AOPs in total, two of them from Valais.

Distilling in Switzerland falls under the supervision of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, formerly the Swiss Alcohol Board. Home distillers are farmers with their own equipment who process only domestically grown raw materials of their own; those without equipment have their fruit distilled for a fee elsewhere. In Germany, by contrast, distilling without a licence is prohibited.