French Brandy and Cognac: How They Are Made

The first known brandy was made in the Mediterranean area in the 7th and 8th centuries. Back then, brandy was not made as a drink, it was for medicinal purposes. By the end of the 8th century, brandy was being made in Ireland and Spain and in the 16th century, Dutch traders brought it from Spain to Northern Europe.

Brandy is considered an agricultural spirit because it is made from agricultural products, namely various fruits. There are three types of brandy, Grape, Pomace and Fruit.

Grape Brandy is made from fermented grape juice. It can also be made from crushed grape pulp and skin. The product is aged in wooden casks, mostly oak, which is where it gets the color and some of the flavor from.

Pomace Brandy is made from pressed instead of crushed grape pulp, skins and stems. These are a by product of the grapes that are crushed and/or pressed to make wine. Pomace is a very different type of brandy. It is not aged as long as the other types and most times not in wood. The taste is not as smooth as the others, but you can get more of a fruity grape taste.

Fruit Brandy is any brandy that is made from a fruit other than grapes. It is different from Fruit Flavored Brandy which is a grape brandy that is flavored with another fruit. Fruit Brandies are distilled from fruit wines. The one exception to the rule is brandy that is made from berries, which do not contain sufficient sugar to make a wine with enough alcoholic content that would allow it to be distilled into brandy. To make one of the berry brandies, the fruit needs to be soaked in high proof spirits, which extracts the full falvor and aroma of the berry.

Cognac, which is from the Cognac region of France, is considered the finest type of brandy in the world. If you want to get the best Cognac, you need to read the label and look for the precise part of the Cognac region it comes from. If it says it is from Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne it is the top of the line. If the label says it is Fine Champagne, it is a blend from both of these regions. Cognac is made by double distilling in pot stills. The product is then aged in casks made from either Limousin or Troncais oak and no other. There are some that will be left to age longer than other and those are eventually moved to old or used oak and the finished product will have less of an oak flavor.

Brandy that is simply labeled French Brandy is one that comes from the other regions of France. French Brandy is aged in oak, but not in the same kind of oak as Cognac. In many cases the brandy is blended with wine, grape juice, oak flavorings, and other Brandies, in some cases even with Cognac. These can be designated as V.S.O.P. or Napoleon, but neither one of these two has any legal requirements. In other words, one brand of Napoleon Brady could be made in an entirely different way and with different ingredients than that from another maker.

Sources: Tastings . Com