When Lee Palleschi was a boy, his dad made wine in the basement. He loved to watch the stomping of the grapes and the sweet smell of the fermenting grapes. His father explained the entire winemaking process to him,but being a young boy, he was more interested in other things and didn’t grow up to be a great winemaker.
He grew up to be a machinist. But, one day a friend turned him onto making ethanol fuel. The process was similar enough to making wine that he was hooked from the very beginning. After discovering the American Distilling Institute he realized that there was so much more to learn.
“Since then I have learned from many people. You would be surprised how many people know how to make Moonshine and Whiskey”, he said.
Today he’s opened his own legal distillery: Valley Spirits. He manufactures vodka and moonshine and teaches classes where students can learn the fine art of making their own sprits.
The Modesto Bee has more.