Prenzel Distilling’s franchise evolution dates back to 1989, when Robert Wuest paid a visit to meet Hugh and Chris Steadman at their cherry orchard. Robert had a background in distilling and was from Alsace in France, a region which was well known for the fruit brandies. The French government banned the artisanal stills, in order to simplify the collection of duties.
The distilling trials in the initial stages for this food and beverage franchise were carried out on the backside of the cherry orchard with Leon Sorg who was an Alsatian distiller, and he in turn trained a Kiwi apprentice. The results were very promising and fruit brandies of very high quality were produced by the distilling franchise. This was confirmed after four years, when the Prenzel Distilling franchise won a gold medal for its Pear William brandy at the largest open fruit brandy competition in the world.
The first fruit brandy distillery was established in 1992 and is produced Waterloo Gin, tipsy cherries and fruit brandies. Prenzel Direct was established in 1997 to market its products to the people and increase sales and the Prenzel guests were enjoying an in-house chance of tasting before the actual purchase. The Prenzel Distilling franchise after ten years of growth has taken steps to expand its operations and includes a wide range of new products and re-imaging of the entire range.