Who is the master distiller/winemaker?
Willi Peter, the owner, has made fine brandies, spirits and liqueurs for more than 30 years.
Producer
Die Südpfalz-Destillerie
- OwnershipSole Proprietorship, Family Owned Business
- ScaleMicro (100–1,000 cases/year)
About the producer
Their story
A manufactory of the finest distillates by master distiller Willi Peter in Oberotterbach (Southern Palatinate), for over 30 years. The basis is a wide variety of fruit, almost all of it home-grown — apples, pears, mirabelles, plums and cherries from orchards and traditional meadow orchards on fertile loess soils — as well as grape marc (Trester) from Palatinate wines. Harvesting and mashing are done by gentle hand.
- Raw materials
- Mostly home-grown fruit (mirabelles, plums, cherries, Williams Christ and other pears, Boskoop/Jonagold/Delicious apples) from beneficial-insect-friendly orchards and meadow orchards; plus wild-grown fruit (elderberry, sloe) and grape marc. Optimal harvest timing and gentle handwork during harvesting and mashing.
- What makes it distinctive
- Master distiller Willi Peter with over 30 years of experience; selected distillates aged in a sandstone cellar and in oak, chestnut and acacia casks. A multiple award-winner: Siegerbrand 2024 of the RLP Chamber of Agriculture (Burgunder Cuvée grape-marc brandy), Destillata Vienna 2020 (top category), Honorary Prize of the SÜW district 2022, and numerous gold chamber-prize medals.
- Production methods
- Estate Production
- Handcrafted
- Small Batch
- Traditional Methods
What they make
- Fruit BrandyPome- and stone-fruit brandies (apple, pear/Williams Christ, plum, mirabelle, cherry, quince, apricot, berries, wild fruit — some oak-cask aged).
- Fruit BrandyFruit spirits (macerated): raspberry, blackberry, currant, elderberry, hazelnut, chestnut, blood-orange, orange, lime, rowanberry, wild sloe.
- TresterGrape-marc brandies (Trester from Palatinate wines): Burgunder Cuvée (Siegerbrand 2024, chestnut cask), Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Goldmuskateller, Sauvignon Blanc, Spätburgunder, Weißer Burgunder, Scheurebe.
- LiqueursLiqueurs (fruity-sweet) and gin: Dornfelder, spiced-plum, currant, coffee-cream, cherry and peach liqueurs; a distilled gin.
Pictures
Where it is made
Raw materials and sourcing
Production
Business Details
The producer
Business Details
- Legal Name
- Willi Peter — Die Südpfalz-Destillerie
- Trading Name
- Die Südpfalz-Destillerie
- Ownership Type
- Sole Proprietorship, Family Owned Business
Products
In the range
Gin
Fruit brandy
Liqueurs
Other spirits
Visit & Contact
Find them
Address
Germany, Europe
In den Birken 10
76889
Contact
- Phone
- +49 6342 7889
- Website
- https://suedpfalz-destillerie.de/
- info@suedpfalz-destillerie.de
FAQ
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Worth knowing
How are raw materials sourced?
Almost all the fruit comes from the distillery's own orchards and meadow orchards on fertile loess soils, where fine wines grow too: apples and pears of many varieties, cherries, plums and mirabelles. Wild fruit such as elderberry and sloe is used as well.
What unique production methods are used?
Each fruit is harvested at its best moment of ripeness and aroma. Harvesting and mashing are done gently by hand; mirabelles, plums and cherries are shaken into large cloths and sorted by hand, so only healthy, fully ripe fruit goes into the mash.
What heritage and traditions are maintained?
The distillery keeps the tradition of the agricultural distilling right, granted to farms from the early 19th century. It allowed a farm to distil 300 litres of pure alcohol a year from fruit not sold as table fruit, which rewarded the care of meadow orchards.
What visitor experiences or tours are available?
Tastings for groups of up to ten are held in the distillery, with an introduction to sensory tasting, distilling and the difference between a brandy and a spirit. With notice, guests can watch a distillation live; larger groups taste at a nearby hotel with dinner and overnight stays.