SC - olives

[CBlackwill at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/3/00 11:45:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
craig.jones at airservices.gov.au writes:

> >Grape skins, called lees, are used in the production of the wine
>  itself 
>  >("sitting on the lees" gives red wines their color), and then fed to
>  farm 
>  >animals.
>  
>  Aren't they also distilled to make Marc or Grappa?  Any idea on when
>  that process started?
>  


Yes, that's right.  I forgot about that.  Often times, the vineyard owner 
would allow the peasants/workers to use the spent lees to distill grappa.  
Nice job, Drake.

As for when the practice started, I cannot find a clear and distinct date in 
any of my reference books.  However, another term for both Grappa and Marc is 
Pomace Brandy.  English cider mills were distilling their own pomace (from 
the latin "pomum", meaning apple) for centuries (according to the Oxford 
Companion to Wine), so I think it is safe to assume that the wineries would 
have followed suit.  However, I cannot be certain.

Hope this helps.

Balthazar of Blackmoor