Brandy: History, France, Production & more

Brandy is a spirit made by fermenting and distillation fruits juice. When made from fruits other than grapes the word brandy is linked with the name of the fruit. When the label reads brandy alone without any qualifying description it should be understood that it is made from grapes. Brandy in fact has been characterized as the soul of wine. The word brandy has originated from the Dutch word “BRANDWIJN” meaning burnt wine which eventually got shortened to brandy.

History of Brandy

Long before the 16th century, wine was a popular product for trading in European region. According to legend a brisk trade of wine existed between La Rochelle Port on rive Charente of Cognac region of France and Holland. All the trade was carried via sea route. During the war period the trading used to be halted thus giving rise to smuggling. The cask of a wine takes a lot space if you are using small sailing boats. The Dutch shipmaster thought of concentrating the wine, elimination of water, then transporting the spirit or soul of wine to Holland adding back the water.  On the arrival in Holland when they have tasted the concentrated wine found taste better then wine and called it “Brandwijn,” meaning “burned wine,” and later became “brandy.”

BRANDIES OF FRANCE

COGNAC- Cognac is defined as the brandy produced form the Charante and Charante Maritime department of the West Central France comprising roughly an area of 2,50,000 acres enclosing the city of Cognac squarely in between which lends its name to the brandy produced in this region. So from the above mentioned definition it can very well be understood that all Cognacs are brandy but not all the brandies are Cognac.  It war delimited by law in year 1909.

THE GROWING AREAS OF COGNAC- The growing areas of Cognac region are subdivided into six zones based mainly on soil and climatic factors. They are as follows:

1. Grande Champagne (large meadow) – 14% of the entire Cognac region.
2. Petite Champagne (small meadow) – 14.7% of Cognac. Jarnac is the known city.
3. Borderies (edges) – Considered equal to Petit Champagne in equal quality and covers around 4.7% of Cognac region. Burie is the important city of the area.
4. Fins Bois (fine woods) – Constitute 35.5% of the area.
5. Bons Bois (good woods) – Constitutes 24.7% of the area.
6. Bois Ordinaire et Bois Terroir (ordinary woods and earth woods)- Constitutes 6% of the area.

Note- The word Champagne has got nothing to do with the celebrated sparkling wine of France. It is originated from the word champ, which means field.

GRAPES- The grape variety which produces the wine are predominantly Folle Blanche (maximum), Saint Emilion and Colombard ( very less ), all are white grapes which produces fruity, thin, slight acidic, harsh and unpleasant wine. Eight different varieties of grapes can be used. 

Manufacarure of Cognac

Cognac is best distilled from a white wine high in acid content and low in alcohol.  The grapes are picked in late autumn, gently pressed avoiding getting tannin. Only the juice of first pressing is used. The grape juice is allowed to rest along with impurities. Sulphar di oxide is not added as the juice will go for a distillation (Acid is natural preservative). These impurities are necessary to give full character to the brandy.  Wine fermented quickly in a stills or alembics along with skin and pips. After the fermentation harsh wine with 8% to 10% is produced. Then the wine is transported to distillery in huge wooden cask.

Distillation– Cognac is made by the pot still distillation method by law. The production of Cognac involves two different distillations-

1. The first distillation or Premiere Chauff
2. The second distillation or Bonne Chauff

Premiere Chauff:- The wine is put into the pot still copper, which is known as the Chaudiere. It is also called as Alembic Charentaise. The capacity of the pot still should not be more than 793 gallons. The Chaudiere is generally heated on a brick furnace. At around 78.3°C the alcohol part gets evaporated and passes through the head of Chaudier known as Chaplteau and goes through a pipe which is shaped like a swan neck called as Col de Cygne. Traveling through Col de Cygne alcoholic vapours reach the Chauff Vin. The Premiere Chauff (1^st distillation) has three parts:

1. The head also called as Produit de tete.
2. The heart also called as Brouillis.
3. The tail also called as Produit de queue.

In the production of Cognac the Heart is used for the Bonne Chauff  (2^nd distillation). The head and tail are put back into the first chaudiere for re distillation. The hearts are used to fill the second chaudiere for Bonne Chauff (2^nd distillation). The product of the Premiere Chauff has the alcoholic content of 25- 30 G.L.

Bonne Chauff- The Bonne Chauff (2^nd distillation) also goes in second chaudiere or pot still. The broullis or heart is used to fill second chaudiere for second distillation. The second chaudiere is also heated by an external source of heat and the second distillation also produces

1. Head   2. Heart           3. Tail

The head and tail are put back into the second chaudiere for re-distillation with the fresh batch of brouillis from the first distillation. The heart of second distillation is Cognac. It has the alcoholic strength of 70%. According to existing French law the alcoholic strength of the Cognac must not increase 72%.

Ageing- Now the cognac goes into the wooden casks ( capacity- 350 lts) for ageing. Cognac should be aged for a legal period of two years. The wooden casks for the ageing of cognac should be made from Limousin or Troncais Oak. The cask must not have any nail or glue inside. It has to be hand crafted. The wood itself is left exposed to air and water for a period of five years till the wood turns grayish in colour. Then the cask is crafted with the help of air and water. As cognac matures in the cask a substantial 3- 5% gets evaporated through the pores of the cask. This 3- 5% is around 22 million bottles or one fourth of the annual world sales. The evaporation, which takes place, is locally referred to as “ANGEL’S SHARE”. This scents the atmosphere and environment of the Cognac city and nourishes the black coloured fungus (Torula) on the walls and the roofs of Cognac warehouses.

Blending (Coupage) – Cognac is constantly blended with the brandies of different age before going to bottling. After each blending it is filtered. After each filtration it is transferred to a new cask and temperature is increased. Filtering is done at 0°C. A panel of experts does the final blending so that it gets the same established taste and aroma. Finally it is diluted with metallic water or distills water and is left once again in the wooden cask for at least six months to harmonize then cognac is bottled.

When the cognac shows the sign of ‘Vintage Cognac’ it is then stored in a special section of the warehouse that remains locked. Vintage Cognac is also known as reserve nouvelle. These cognacs are used for blending. In 1963 the French Govt. passed a regulation prohibiting the use of vintage date on the cognac label.

Reading a cognac label:- The cognac industry finally settled down the following guidelines in the use of stars, letters and names on the label of a cognac bottle.

• Three stars or the letters VS, VSP indicates the youngest cognac blend of the minimum 2 years by law, but 3-5 years in practice. The letters VS, VSOP, VSP or VSEP indicates that the minimum age of youngest cognac in the blend is 4 years with the average age going till 10-15 years. The full form of VSPO is Very Superior (Very Special) Old Pale but some noble heads in France give this full form as Versez Sans Oublier Personne  which means Pour Without Omitting Anyone.
• Cognac, labled with names such as Napoleon, Cordon Bleu, Triomphe, Vielle Reserve. XO, Extra Anniversaire e.t.c. indicates that the minimum age of the youngest cognac in the blend is 6 years with the average age going upwards up to 20 years.
• Cognac labeled with Extra and Grand Reserve etc is likely to have youngest cognac of 40 years.

Along with age description the following term might also appear on label of cognac.

• Grande Champagne or Grande Fine Champagne- This indicates that the grapes are grown in the area of Grand Champagne.
• Fine Champagne-Cognac bottle labeled as Fine Champagne indicates that the grapes are obtained from the Grand and Petit Champagne region of France but the minimum of the grapes are from the Grand Champagne area.
• Boullier de Crus-A distiller who can distill only the wine, which he produces.
• Boullier de Profession– This is a distiller who cannot only distill wine which he produces but also that he purchases from others. Most of the big companies are Boullier de Profession since their output is so much that they have to purchase wine from others. The famous company Courvisier does not have a single vine yard or distillery. They just buy young brandies from outside and mature them in their massive warehouses.
• Fine Maison is a cheap quality brandy also known as house Brandy is served when the guest gives the order without specifying any brand.

BRAND NAMES

1. Bisquit  2 .Camus  3.Courvoisier  4.Hardy  5.Henessey 6.Hine 7.Martell 8.Remy Martin.

Service- Brandy is generally served in the brandy balloon or a brandy snifter. V.S.O.P or above Cognacs are served after dinner as digestive liqueur. Hence these cognacs, which are served as liqueur, are called Liqueur Brandy, but brandy liqueur is a liqueur with the brandy as a base. The best way to serve cognac is to serve it as liqueur after dinner.

ARMAGNAC- It is known as the brandy of musketeers. Armagnac is produced from the area of Gers, which is situated 113kms from the city of Bordeaux. This delimited area is present in the heart of South Western France a part of which was the ancient province of Gascony. Armagnac is reposted as the oldest spirit of the World, its distillation dates back to 1411. Armagnac is the only spirit in the World, which is legally allowed to print its vintage year on the bottle.

These three sub- regions grow the above-mentioned grapes:

1. Bas Armagnac             2 Haut Armagnac                    3. Ternarez

The most commonly used grapes for the production of Armagnac are:

1. Folle Blanche- also called as the Picquepoult.
2. Baco 22- Originated from a cross between Folle Blanche and Naoh varities.
3. Colombard- Some growers prefer this grape variety

Production Process- The white wine, which is distilled to produce brandy, comes from complete natural fermentation and no additives are added. Normally grapes are fermented and distilled within eight weeks of harvest.

Distillation of Armagnac takes place in traditional alembic called as Alembic Armagnacais a unique version of continuous still, small and inefficient. The still is heated by oak and older Timber. The wine goes through a single distillation in the Alembic Armagnacais. The Armagnac which comes out of the still can have 55% of alcohol where as host of them come out of the still around 52% of alcoholic content keeping all the flavours intact.

Armagnac is aged in un-sawn, split oak staves obtained from the Black Veined oak (Monlezen) of the forest of Gascony. The Capacity of the oaks is 410lit. Armagnac is always aged in oak casks, for a period of time, before being bottled and sold. Armagnac is bottled in Basque bottle.

Brand Names-  J. De. Malliac, Chabbot, Chabbot 55

Difference between Cognac and Armagnac:

1. Cognac undergoes two distillations in the pot stills whereas Armagnac is produced by one distillation in Alembic.
2. Cognac comes out of still with the alcohol content of 72 G.L whereas Armagnac comes out of the still in between 52-55 G.L.
3. Cognac is in a wooden cask made up of Limousin Oak or Troncais whereas Armagnac is matured in wooden casks made of Black Veined Oak of Gascony or Monlezun oak.
4. The minimum legal period of ageing of the Cognac is 2 years whereas in the case of Armagnac it is being aged for a minimum period of 12 years.

FRUIT BRANDIES

Perhaps the most intriguing of all the brandies are those produced from fruits other than grapes. These are generally colourless and are referred to as Acool Blanc or White Alcohol. They are true Eaux de Vie (Water of Life). Apple brandies are the only major exceptions.

Production of fruit brandies

There is no single method of making fruit brandies. But it is safe to say that 25 pounds of fruits are required to produce a bottle of fruit brandy. Each step in production is designed to heighten the bouquet. Except in the case of berries all other fruits are mashed and fermented to make a wine. A double pot still distillation takes place when pot still is used and single distillation is done when patent still is used.

Berries, which lack the sufficient of sugar for fermentation, are soaked in the neutral spirit till all the flavour is extracted into the alcohol. Then the infusion is distilled once even if pot still is used. Regardless of the method of production the fruit brandy will run out of the still at a fairly low alcoholic strength.

Unlike other brandies fruit brandies are never aged in wooden casks. Wood imparts colour and distracts taste. Glass or glass linked containers are used for the ageing but increasingly stainless steel tanks are being used and in any case fruit brandies are not aged long before bottling.

Examples of fruit brandies:

1. Houx- Made from Holly Berries in France
2. Kirch- Made from wild cherries. It is most popular Eau de Vie. In Germany and  Switzerland the same is known as Kirshwasser.
3. Poire- Made from William pear. Occasionally one sees a bottle of Poire containing a whole pear in it.
4. Framboise- Made from raspberries. In Germany and Switzerland this known as Himbeergiest.
5. Mirabelle- Made from yellow plums in France.
6. Quetsch- Made from blue plums in France, Germany and Switzerland.
7. Slivovitz- made from Sljiva plums in Yugoslavia and other European countries.
8. Barat Palinka- Made from apricot in Australia and Hungary.
9. Fraise-Strawberries

Service of fruit brandies- Fruit brandies should be served chilled in tulip glasses. Most often they are served after dinner as dinner digestives, but can also be served as aperitifs.

APPLE BRANDY

There are two major types of apple brandies- Calvados from France and Applejack from the U.S. The apple brandies are made in a different way than other fruit brandies.

Calvados– it is an apple brandy. Calvados is produced in the region of Calvados in Normandy, France. The apples grown in the region are carefully picked, ripened and crushed to extract the juice is fermented then distilled twice to become calvados. Calvados is aged in oak casks for years, before being bottled and sold. The earliest reference to calvodas in 1942 and got appellation in 1942. Best calvados comes from region of Pay d’ Auge. It comes into four taste sweet, bitter sweet, bitter and acid. The younger calvados smells like an apple but the older ones smells like vanilla and spice.

Brand Names- Busnel

Applejack– According to a unanimous decision passed by the New Jersey cabinet in 1964 Applejack is the oldest native distilled spirit beverage in the U.S. Applejacks in the market today are a blend no less than 20% of apple brandy and the rest is neutral spirit. The applejack distilled from cider and must be aged in oak casks for a minimum of 2 years. It is a light blends spirit with medium of apple flavour.

Service- Young Calvados and Applejacks may be used in mixed drinks. Older Calvados and Applejacks is best drunk like the most distinguished brandies.

Pomace Brandy– Marc is the pomace brandy of France. It is made in rather small quantities and most of it is locally consumed without aging. Some of the famous Marcs form France are Marc de Bourgogne, Marc de Champagne. These are produced from pot stills and are aged for a considerable period of time in wooden casks. The most distinct type of pomace brandy in France is produced in Alsace that is Marc de Gewurztraminer which is double pot still distilled and matured in ceramic/glass containers for colorless.

• Pomace brandy from Italy is known as Grappa.
• Pomace brandy from Portugal is known as Bagaciera.
• Pomace brandy from Spain is known as Aguardiente.
• Pomace brandy from Germany is known as Testerbradwein.
• Pomace brandy from Greece is known as Metaxa. /  Melana.