LEARN ABOUT
THE HANSON DISTILLATION PROCESS

Since we established our business in 2013, our family-owned distillery has flourished. We are proudly Certified Organic, and still family-owned. It’s a combination that brings the best out of our produce and our people, ensuring every sip of Hanson vodka or whiskey conveys the spirit of Sonoma County.

Pot and column stills

Chris Hanson operating distillery machinery

We use a unique hybrid setup of pot and column stills, custom made to produce a smooth, uniquely flavourful grape-based spirit. Our first distillation runs through a traditional copper pot still to retain flavors from the base ingredients. We then distill through a second copper pot still, similar to those you’d find in the Cognac region. This still has a reflux helmet which allows us to retain a velvety mouthfeel. Finally, we distill through our 50-plate copper column still. The distillate has to cool, heat, and vaporize between each of the 50 plates to become deliciously clean vodka with distinctive character and soft mouthfeel.

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The craft of Hanson vodka

Chris Hanson feeding grapes into the pressing machine

Darren Hanson checking the fermentation tanks

Hanson of Sonoma Distillery, California, USA

Grape Harvest

Grape Press

Fermentation & Wine

Distillation

A blend of organic grapes is harvested in late August and early September to ensure the acid and sugar balance is perfect for distillation.

At our facility we have a crush pad and traditional wine bladder press. When processing grapes, the juice is pressed from the fruit then moves into fermentation tanks.

The juice from crushed grapes is then fermented in stainless steel tanks to make wine. This ensures no other flavors or contaminants come in contact with the natural wine pre-distillation. Harnessing wisdom passed along from our neighbors, the Ceja family, a specialized yeast is used in fermentation. We never add sulfites to our wines, so they’re considered natural wines. Blending the best wines and ingredients help us make the best vodka.

We researched for a year and a half, experimenting with 155 batches to find the very best distillation and filtration methods for our vodkas. The result is a highly refined set-up that promises a beautifully clean spirit, without compromising on flavor.

brandon and alanna hanson labelling bottles of vodka

Handcrafted by the Hanson Family

From selecting the best ingredients, to applying the final labels to our bottles, everything at Hanson of Sonoma Distillery is handcrafted. Our family oversees each arm of the operation, all the way through to creating serving suggestions and pairings that help you enjoy our vodkas at their best.

100% Certified
Organic

We’re proud to be an Organic Certified distillery. Our special blend of grapes is grown from seeds that are never genetically engineered. They are free from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, The same goes for the fruits and vegetables found in our organic vodka infusions.

Naturally better infusions

By partnering with certified organic farmers, we’ve made sure the standards applied to our own organic practices are extended to the produce found in our infusions too. Once they reach us, each fruit and vegetable is hand peeled, cut, and prepared for infusion with our organic vodka. It’s a process that guarantees complex fruit flavor, without artificial syrups and sweeteners.

The best way to discover the magic of Hanson of Sonoma is to experience it firsthand. Visit us at the Sonoma distillery and tasting room, or our coastal site in Sausalito, CA, to experience the difference for yourself.

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