Discover the Essencier

Overview

Hint

Crans-Montana

Valais
Contact

Distillerie l'Essencier
Route des Fermes 5
1977 Icogne (VS)
Phone +41 (0)78 221 12 00
essencier.ch

Intro

Visit and workshop at the Essencier - Essential oil of the Valais Alps.

Overlooking the Rhône Valley, on the right bank, you’ll find “Monteiller”, just before the village of Icogne, at a place where ancestral “bisse” irrigation channels intersect; these carry water from the glaciers to people and animals, making the miracle of farming possible… These bisses still work today and have been lovingly restored and transformed into beautiful pedestrian trails as well. This is where the Mayor family farm was founded back in 1953. In the 2010s, Guillaume joined the team on site, and a project began to take shape: the construction of an essential oil distillery. The foundation stone was laid in 2014, and the first distillations began in 2015. The distillery building, which also houses the office, shop, reception/teaching space and laboratory adheres to construction and operating principles that favour the strict use of natural materials and renewable energy (self-insulating cellular concrete, thermal solar panels, wood chips etc.), as does the still. Distillation is based on a process of evaporation and condensation performed by the still. The fresh plants (200 to 300kg) are placed in a 1,000-litre stainless steel tank. At no point do they ever come into contact with the boiling water, which can be found exclusively surrounding the tank (double-walled, creating a very gentle bain-marie system that ensures the active ingredients are preserved). Only water vapour passes through the plant mass, extracting and carrying away the volatile active ingredients. The vapour is then condensed again in the cooler and finally recovered in what is known as the “Essencier”, in which the liquid part (hydrolat) is separated from the essential oil, which is lighter and rises to the surface. This circuit takes several hours and requires careful monitoring (of pressure, temperature etc.) The distillation residues are then either composted and recycled on crops or added to the fuel that powers the boiler. Our visit includes:

A visit to the crops (in summer)
A visit to the Essencier (explanation of the distillation process and how the still works)
Discovery of the aroma of several essences
A “Create an aromatic balm” or “Create bath salts” workshop