Around 1940, Francis Germanier decided to introduce a pear variety to the plains of the Rhône valley called William or Williams Bon Chrétien, after the English nurseryman Williams who first introduced it. The climate and soil of central Valais provided the ideal conditions to grow pears of incomparable taste and aromatic quality. Originally intended for the table, it was only after a disastrous storm threw the entire harvest to the ground in 1945 that Francis decided to distill the fruit. The resultant eau-de-vie proved extraordinarlily aromatic and harmonious—and the Bon Père William was born.