{"id":13636,"date":"2020-09-17T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T13:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/francevisiting.com\/?p=13636"},"modified":"2022-11-17T12:35:30","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T11:35:30","slug":"french-cognac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/francevisiting.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/17\/french-cognac\/","title":{"rendered":"This time, we taste different spirits of (French) Cognac"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Cognac is a renowned spirit, throughout the world for centuries, as a wine brandy produced in the French region of the same name. Mostly distilled nowadays in copper stills, Cognac is essentially a blend alcohol that seeks to express the finesse<\/em> and elegance of its different wines, which composing it and its further uses (like this Brandy Crusta cocktail illustrated here by Weekend Mixologist).<\/strong><\/p>\n

This white wine eau-de-vie<\/em> is made from a double distillation in a Charentais still, then aged in French oak barrels for a minimum of two years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to many achieved efforts, Cognac has gained in sophistication to become the symbol of French luxury and refinement. Paradoxically, this typical and emblematic French know-how has been luckily boosted by the spotlights of its distributors from all over the World, who promoted the premium and ancestral tradition of its producers. Therefore, the rich history of Cognac had always the privilege to offer a real international fame to these vineyards, from the apparition of some prestige Cuv\u00e9es<\/em> in the list of the best cocktail bars of the galaxy until some legendary movies. This notoriety wouldn’t have been the same if the Cognac houses have not kept a strong attachment to their vines and the quality of their juices, pursuing, for some of them, a heritage rich of many centuries. <\/strong>By AP <\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"\"\"For your basic information, the vineyards of Cognac<\/strong> are mainly located in the neighbors French<\/strong> departments of Charente<\/strong> and Charente-Maritime<\/strong>, but they could also extend to Deux-S\u00e8vres<\/strong> and Dordogne<\/strong>. Thus, the authentic AOC<\/strong> appellation of Cognac<\/strong> embraces approximately 80,000 hectares of vines, divided into six Crus<\/strong>, and nearly exclusively made of the Ugni Blanc<\/strong> grape variety.<\/p>\n

All of them are defined by the nature of their distinct subsoils<\/strong>, among them we can count the Borderies<\/strong>, Fins Bois<\/strong>, Bons Bois<\/strong>, Bois Ordinaires<\/strong>, Petite<\/strong> and Grande Champagne<\/strong>. By the way, a famous 19th century geologist<\/strong>, called Henri Coquand<\/strong> tried to understand and then describe the nature of the soils<\/strong> of this region and their impact on Cognacs <\/strong>(photo credits: St\u00e9phane Charbeau).<\/p>\n