About Alain Milliat
- Based in
- Orliénas and Valence, France
- Founded
- 1997
- Known for
- single-fruit juices and nectars in glass bottles
Alain Milliat took over his family's farm in Orliénas, near Lyon, in 1983. He spent about fifteen years restoring and replanting the orchards before releasing his first six juices and nectars in 1997. To test them, he sent bottles to 60 establishments picked at random from the Relais & Châteaux guide.
All the fruit is now processed at the company's workshop in Valence, in the Drôme. More than half of it is French, with a preference for growers near the workshop, and it comes from producers working at least to sustainable standards. Exotic fruit is not flown in: its juice and pulp are extracted and frozen where it grows and shipped by boat. The juices have no added sugar and go into bottles made from 70 percent recycled glass.
The range covers juices and nectars from French and exotic fruit. Serve them cold at breakfast or use them in place of a mixer.
Alain Milliat questions
What is the difference between a juice and a nectar?
A juice is 100 percent fruit, with no added sugar, flavoring, sweetener or preservative. A nectar starts from fruit that is fleshy, fibrous or simply less juicy, such as apricot, blackcurrant, mango or Williams pear, which pressed on its own would taste sour or flat. Alain Milliat adds water to loosen it and sugar to balance the acidity (sharpness), and uses no synthetic flavoring or sweetener. Neither is better than the other; a nectar is simply how fruits that do not press well are made drinkable.
How does Alain Milliat choose its fruit?
Alain Milliat picks the orchards, the variety, the color and even the sun exposure of the fruit, and has it harvested at full ripeness so each fruit's character comes through in the juice. Early feedback from sommeliers, the wine experts at fine restaurants, shaped the texture, color and balance of sugar and acidity (sharpness) in his first bottles.
