Brandy Flashcards
How is brandy compared to whiskey?
How is production different?
Presented as a more feminine counterpart, evoking delicate aromas of flowers, fruit, subtle oak, and spice.
—whiskey is distilled from fermented grains, brandy uses wine as its source material.
What is the story behind brandy’s creation?
—16th century Dutch trader derived from the Dutch brandewijn, or “burned wine”
—preserving its essence, or soul, on voyages northward from Spain and France to Holland, thought he could simply reconstitute the wine with water upon his return.
—he kept the brandewijn in wooden casks during the voyage, was surprised to discover that his countrymen enjoyed the mellowed taste of the spirit—brandy was born.
How is Brandy defined by the EU?
Min alcohol?
Oak aging?
distillation of wine—not pomace—
minimum abv of 36% and a minimum oak aging period of six months.
When was Cognac AOC established?
Where is it located?
First defined in 1909 and finalized in 1938.
Northeast of the Bordeaux region.
What are the six defined regions of Cognac in descending order of quality?
Where are they each geographically located?
—Grande Champagne (Central)
—Petite Champagne (wraps around the southern half of of Grande Champagne)
—Borderies (directly northwest of Grand Champagne)
—Fins Bois (surrounds all of the above)
—Bons Bois (surrounds Fin Bois)
—Bois Ordinaires (Bois à Terroirs) (separated to the nortwest of everything above)
Two reasons for the use of “Champagne” in Cognac?
—is a reflection of the word’s etymological origin; a derivation of the Latin word for “plain”
—Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne have a high percentage of soft chalk, the preferred soil for Cognac, whereas the outlying appellations have higher proportions of hard limestone, sand and clay.
Soils of Cognac?
Grande and Petite Champagne: Limestone and soft chalk
Fins Bois: “groies” (hard red limestone) and clay
Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires: Sand
What is Cognac produced from?
low alcohol, acidic base wine produced primarily from Ugni Blanc (St. Émilion), which accounts for nearly 98% of the vineyard acreage in the appellation.
—Folle Blanche, Colombard, and other varieties are permitted but rare.
** Colombard, Folle Blanche, Montils, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc; plus a max. 10% Folignan (Folle Blanche x Ugni Blanc)
Cognac and Armagnac similar requirements
Min alcohol?
Base Wine Requirements? (3)
Authorized Additives? (2)
—40%
- Base wines must contain 7-12% (Armagnac starts at 7.5) alcohol
- Base wines may not be chaptalized
- use of sulfur dioxide is prohibited during fermentation
-Sugar, Caramel, and Oak Chips may be used for final adjustment and coloring
Distilled and de-mineralized water may be added to reduce alcohol prior to bottling
Distillation procedures of Cognac: Distillation type? First distillation capacity? Bonne chauffe capacity? ABV maximum after distillation? When must distillation be complete?
- Base wines must be distilled twice in a copper Charentais pot still
- For distillation, the copper boiler must be heated over an open flame
- The still used for the first distillation must not exceed a capacity of 140 hl (5% tolerance), with a volume of base wine not exceeding 120 hl
- The still used to distill the bonne chauffe must not exceed a capacity of 30 hl (5% tolerance), with a volume of spirit not exceeding 25 hl
- After the second distillation, the spirits must not contain more than 72.4% alcohol
- Distillation must be completed by March 31 of the year following the harvest
Cognac Aging Requirements.
—Prior to release, Cognac must be aged in oak casks for a min. 2 years (from April 1 of the year following the harvest)
—All below age indications refer to the youngest Cognac in the blend.
—VS / *** / de Luxe / Grand Choix / Surchoix: min. 2 years old
—Supérieur: min. 3 years old
—VO / VSOP / Réserve: min. 4 years old
—VVSOP / Grande Réserve: min. 5 years old
—Napoléon / Extra / Royal / Très Vieux / Vieille Réserve: min. 6 years old (As of 2018 “XO” will indicate Cognac aged for a min. 10 years – the original deadline of 2016 was protested to ensure consistency of stocks.)
—XO: Min 10 years.
***In practice, the better producers age their brandies much longer, and many XO Cognace will be aged for at least fifteen or twenty years prior to release.
What does “Fine Champagne” mean in Cognac?
What does “Fine” mean on a bottle of Cognac?
min. 50% eaux-de-vie sourced from Grande Champagne, with the remainder sourced from Petite Champagne
this term may be applied to either Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne (“Grande Fine Champagne” and “Petite Fine Champagne”) but it does not provide any additional information.
If labeled by subzone, how much of the production must originate from stated subzone in Cognac?
if labeled by a subzone of production (i.e. “Grande Champagne”), 100% of the eaux-de-vie must originate in the stated subzone
What is the first and second distillation in Cognac called?
How is the second distillation divided up?
Brouillis: first distillation produces a spirit of 28-32% alcohol called the brouillis. Several batches of brouillis are returned to the boiler to be distilled again, to extract the “soul” of Cognac.
Bonne chauffe: second distillation, or bonne chauffe, is divided into several parts: the tête (heads), coeur (heart), secondes (second cuts) and queue (tails).
—The distiller separates the heads, seconds and tails from the coeur, which makes up about 40% of the total volume of the brouillis and alone becomes Cognac.
Traditionally, where are the oak casks sourced for Cognac barrels?
Limousin and Tronçais forests.
What does Vintage mean on a bottle of Cognac?
Vintage indicated year of harvest, not year of distillation.
-Vintage cognacs are rare
Where is Armagnac AOC located?
How is Armagnac divided?
Gascony region of southwest France (southeast of Bordeaux)
Haut-Armagnac
Bas-Armagnac
Armagnac-Ténarèze
What is Armagnac produced from?
Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Folle Blanche (Picpoul), and Baco Blanc (the only hybrid grape authorized in any French AOC/P appellation).
*** Unlike Cognac, Armagnac is more frequently produced from a blend of varieties than a single grape.
