Wine - the first stage of production

Brandy is mostly produced from Ugni Blanc grape sort (about 90-98% of the Cognac vineyards are planted with Ugni Blanc, the rest are Folle Blanche and Colombard). The wine from these grapes reaches a very low alcohol level (7-9 degrees) while retaining high acidity. Wines of this sort are ideal for distillation, and this is a good start for high quality cognac and brandy production. The grape harvest usually begins in this region around the 3rd or 4th week in September. The majority of grapes are harvested mechanically (still several well known producers harvest at least part of their vineyards manually), than pressed and fermented.

The Distillation

The typical pot still used for double-distillation is often referred to as the alambic Charentaise. The copper onion shape still's reservoir ends in the top with the curved narrowing pipe, named swan's neck. Today, only a very few alambics are heated with wood, most use gas or oil. Distillation itself is based on the simple premise that the boiling point of water is higher than alcohol's. The wine enters a central dome and gradually flows into a heating tank, under which a gas flame burns steadily. As the wine reaches the boiling point, a vapor begins to rise. This steam collects against the inside of the dome, rises up by swan's neck and the then gravity takes the vapor downward through a pipe coiled around a holding tank filled with cold water. From there it reconverts into liquid and exits the still with an alcohol level of around 28 - 32 % vol.
The first spirits to come out of the still, known as the tetes or heads, normally contain such high level of impurities that they are discarded. The majority of the distillation, called the brouillis, is kept. The wine, that takes the longest time to distil and remains at the end, called the queues or tails, is normally too weak and stripped of flavour to produce anything worth keeping. Consequently, like the heads, the tails are often discarded. The useable material (brouillis) from the first distillation is collected and housed in holding tanks; afterwards, it is reinstated in the still and processed again. This time there is less waste material, and 99% is kept. The spirit exits at a higher strength the second time, normally somewhere between 67% and 72% vol. and it is crystal clear as spring water. This is the final distillation product and French call it eau-de-vie, what means „the water of life". It takes about nine litres of wine to produce one liter of the 70% vol. eau-de-vie.
The distillation period has a variable start date, but it must end, by law at midnight on 31 March each year.

The aging process

The clear liquid, eau-de-vie is stored in wooden casks (some of them have capacity of 350 litres). These are mostly made of oak from Limousin or Troncais forests in France. The characteristics of this oak are its porosity and a high content of tannins. The trees are dried naturally, cut by hand and assembled into barrels over the open fire. Neither the glue or nails are used. The aging is a very delicate process of interaction between outside air and the alcohol inside of the oak wooden cask. The eau-de-vie gradually acquire its smooth and unique aroma, fine amber colour by absorbing the tannin found in the oak wood. After many years of aging, the drink is getting weaker and also about 3% of the stock is lost annually through evaporation. This is known as „la partes des anges" - the angels share. For example, to obtain 100 liters of Cognac aged over 10 years, it is necessary to have about 135 litres not aged cognac.

The blending concept

Whereas it is common to produce wine from a single sort of grapes, most cognacs are a blend of various plots and vintages. Blending is an art that is guided, as much by the nose of the cellar master, as by the minimum legal requirements and the demands of the market. Blending is used because of several reasons:
- in order to cut the alcohol content to meet the legal requirements;
- to meet great demand all over the world;
- to create the unique aroma and taste of this beautiful drink.