Brandy making at home isn’t illegal here in Portugal in fact we have refurbished a house which had a working still in it. We thought that we had better fire it up one last time before the bulldozers moved in.
First of course we needed a local expert to show us how its done.
To maintain the correct temperature and produce the best brandy the fire heating the still has to be well controlled the still is cooled down by pouring water over it. The still is called an Alambique virtually every village in rural Portugal will have one. This is what it looks like in operation.
Recently we were asked to provide a stained glass window for a window in a refurbished old house which had been a brandy distillery. The window looks amazing.
Stained glass is more affordable than you may think. Stained glass is an ideal solution for people who have a window with an ugly view, looking at a retaining wall for example or a block of apartments. You may just want to express yourself with a display of warm traditional colours. By choosing a design that matches your personality, the house or location where it will be installed.
The choice of designs are endless as are the colours and colour combinations that you can use in your unique creation. Privacy, stained glass has the advantage of helping preserve your privacy as it is very hard to see through from the outside. Our artists uses a modern, specialist glass paint and traditional lead to create these attractive panels. Once painted the design and glass are fitted inside a double glazed unit so that they are protected from damage and still provide the correct level of thermal insulation.
The new window is then simply fitted in the place of the old window pane. Designs, size and potential locations are all made easier because the windows are not fully leaded they do not have any problems with excessive weight. We can produce windows or a series of stained glass windows to provide the effect you desire. Here is an example of a window created from a clients outline description. The design and colours were fine tuned by sending photographs over email.
The result is outstanding. The object is a depiction in the Portuguese style of an old brandy still. The house where the window is fitted was once a brandy distillery. If you would like an estimate for a design of your own we will be pleased to contact you. www.casteloconstruction 00351 927168247
