Cognac: The “rediscovered” drink of the moment

People have long known that spirits and food are natural pairs, and as cognac has resurfaced as a hot drink trend people are seeing more and more bottles of cognac being served with meals.  Cognac’s flavor is a balance between fruitiness and acidity.  It has a superb mixability that makes it a ready choice for a brown spirit to be enjoyed during a meal.  Cognac is especially enjoyable with rich foods like young pigeon and honey-fried pork.  It is a rich, sophisticated, trendy and affordable liquor ready to be enjoyed by all.   

Most people know little about cognac so they find it difficult to know where to begin enjoying it.  This fragrant and smooth drinking spirit is actually a kind of brandy.  What makes it cognac? Cognac is a delimited region in France that has been given permission by the Appellation Controlee to call their brandy Cognac, signifying their importance as a quality producer of this product.  All the regions of France can produce brandy, but only brandy produced from grapes that were grown, distilled, and aged in the Cognac region can call their brandy Cognac.  This region is known for its white chalky soil that gives the grapes a unique flavor. 

The main grape that is used to produce the base wine that will ultimately become Cognac is called Ugni Blanc.  The grape offers great yields, good natural acidity, and has notes of floral and spice.  The Folle Blanche grape provides some weight, a deeper fruitiness but this grape is more prone to disease.  The Colombard grape is known for being acidic as well as aromatic.  These grapes are grown in six specific subdivisions of Cognac called Crus, with each Cru representing a different flavor.  The winemaker then picks the grapes, they quickly ferment them with a gentler traditional plate press so that there is no bruising of the skin (which would give the eaux-de-vie acidic bitterness).  Because the grapes have a high acidity this prevents oxidation (so no sulfur needs to be added) and they ferment in about five days to a week at a temperature of 20-25 C°.

French law decrees that all Cognac must be distilled by midnight on March 31 of the year following the harvest of the grapes.  After the liquor is distilled it ages in an oak barrel for six months to a year.  It moves into older oak barrels for at least two years to be sold as VS Cognac.  VSOP Cognac must spend four years in these oak barrels.  XO Cognac spends a minimum of six years in these barrels but up to forty years until it is bottled.  In addition to these types of Cognac, the finest Cognac is called Fine Champagne.  It is a blend of grapes from the Grand and Petite Champagne regions.  After aging the Cognac it is blended and reduced with purified water.

Now that you have an idea about how much love, care and time goes into producing Cognac you may feel more apt to try it.  Try to break away from your usual routine of wine and try ordering a fine Cognac so you can enjoy its time-tested associations with quality.  The history and tradition of Cognac is a beautiful and exciting adventure to embark on.