Contents

1 INTRODUCTION 2 Uses
o

2.1 Beverages

2.1.1 Drinking temperature

2.2 Culinary 2.3 Medicinal

3 History 4 Terminology and legal definitions 5 Types

o

5.1 Grape brandy 5.2 Fruit brandy 5.3 Pomace brandy

6 COGNAC (BRANDY) 7 ARMAGNAC BRANDY

Brandy
Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn"burnt wine") is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks, while some are simply coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of such aging (and some brandies are produced using a combination of both aging and colouring).

Brandy is also produced from fermented fruits other than grapes, but these products are typically called eaux-de-vie. In some countries, fruit flavouring or some other flavouring may be added to a spirit that is called "brandy".

Uses
Beverages

Brandy may be served neat or on the rocks. It is added to other beverages to make several popular cocktails; these include the Brandy Alexander, the Sidecar, the Brandy Sour, and the Brandy Old Fashioned.
Drinking temperature

Brandy is traditionally drunk neat at room temperature in western countries from a snifter or a tulip glass. In parts of Asia, it is usually drunk on the rocks. When drunk at room temperature, it is often slightly warmed by holding the glass cupped in the palm or by gently heating it. However, excessive heating of brandy may cause the alcohol vapour to

become too strong, to the extent that its aroma can become overpowering. Brandy connoisseurs will ask for the glass to be warmed before the Brandy is added, this causes the aroma to be strong without having to hold the glass, and the flavour to be maximised. Brandy has a more pleasant aroma at a lower temperature, e.g., 16 C (61 F). In most homes, this would imply that brandy should be cooled rather than heated for maximum enjoyment. Furthermore, alcohol (which makes up 40% of a typical brandy) becomes thin when it is heated (and more viscous when cooled). Thus, cool brandy produces a fuller and smoother mouthfeel and less of a "burning" sensation.
Culinary

Flavoured brandy is added to desserts, including cake and pie toppings, to enhance their flavour.

Flavoured brandy is commonly added to apple dishes. Brandy is a common deglazing liquid that is used in making pan sauces for steak and other meat.

Brandy is used to create a more intense flavour in some soups, notably onion soup.

Medicinal

Brandy was an important ingredient in many patent medicines such as Daffy's Elixir.

History
The origins of brandy are clearly tied to the development of distillation. Concentrated alcoholic beverages were known in ancient Greece and Rome. Brandy, as it is known today, first began to appear in the 12th century and became generally popular in the 14th century.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make the wine easier for merchants to transport. It was also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit. In addition to removing water, the distillation process leads to the formation and decomposition of numerous aroma compounds, fundamentally altering the composition of the distillate from its source. Non-volatile substances such as pigments, sugars, and salts remain behind in the still. As a result, the taste of the distillate may be quite unlike that of the original source. As described in the 1728 edition of Cyclopaedia, the following method was used to distil brandy: A cucurbit was filled half full of the liquor from which brandy was to be drawn and then raised with a little fire until about one sixth part was distilled, or until that which falls into the receiver was entirely

flammable. This liquor, distilled only once, was called spirit of wine or brandy. Purified by another distillation (or several more), this was then called spirit of wine rectified. The second distillation was made in balneo mariae and in a glass cucurbit, and the liquor was distilled to about one half the quantity. This was further rectified as long as the operator thought necessaryto produce brandy. To shorten these several distillations, which were long and troublesome, a chemical instrument was invented that reduced them to a single distillation. To test the purity of the rectified spirit of wine, a portion was ignited. If the entire contents were consumed without leaving any impurity behind, then the liquor was good. Another, better test involved putting a little gunpowder in the bottom of the spirit. If the gunpowder took fire when the spirit was consumed, then the liquor was good. As most brandies are distilled from grapes, the regions of the world producing excellent brandies have roughly paralleled those areas producing grapes for viniculture. At the end of the 19th century, the western European marketand by extension their overseas empires

was dominated by French and Spanish brandies, and eastern Europe was dominated by brandies from the Black Sea region, including Bulgaria, the Crimea, and Georgia. In 1880, David Saradjishvili founded his Cognac Factory in Tbilisi, Georgia (then part of the Russian Empire) which was a crossroads for Turkish, Central Asian, and Persian trade routes. Armenian and Georgian brandies (always called cognacs in the era) were considered some of the best in the world, often beating their French competitors at the International Expositions in Paris and Brussels in the early 1900s. The storehouses of the Romanov Court in St. Petersburg were regarded as the largest collections of cognacs and wines in the worldmuch of it from the Transcaucasus region of Georgia. During the October Revolution of 1917, upon the storming of the Winter Palace, the Bolshevik Revolution actually paused for a week or so as the rioters engorged on the substantial stores of cognac and wines. The Russian market was always a huge brandy-consuming region, and while much of it was home-grown, much was imported. The patterns of bottles follow that of western European norm. Throughout the Soviet era, the production of brandy remained a source of pride for the communist

regime, and they continued to produce some excellent varietiesmost famously the Jubilee Brandies of 1967, 1977, and 1987. Remaining bottles of these productions are highly sought after, not simply for their quality, but for their historical significance.

Terminology and legal definitions

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and general colloquial usage of the term, brandy may also be made from pomace and from fermented fruit other than grapes. If a beverage comes from a particular fruit (or multiple fruits) other than exclusively grapes, or from the must of such fruit, it may be referred to as a "fruit brandy" or "fruit spirit" or using the name of a fruit, such as "peach brandy", rather than just generically as "brandy". If pomace is the raw material, the beverage may be called "pomace brandy", "marc brandy", "grape marc", "fruit marc spirit", or "grape marc spirit". Grape pomace brandy may be designated as "grappa" or "grappa

brandy".Apple brandy may be referred to as "applejack". There is also a product called "grain brandy" that is made from grain spirits. Within particular jurisdictions, there are specific regulatory requirements regarding the labelling of products identified as brandy. For example:

In the European Union, there are regulationsthat require products labelled as brandy (except "grain brandy") to be produced exclusively from the distillation or redistillation of (grape-based) wine (or "wine fortified for distillation"), and a minimum of six months of aging in oak is required. Alcoholic beverages imported to the EU from the United States or other non-EC states can be sold within the European Union using labels that refer to them as "fruit brandy" or "pomace brandy", but such a label cannot be used in the EU for products produced in an EC member state.

In the United States, brandy that has been produced in some way other than using grape wine must be labelled with a clarifying description of the type of brandy production (e.g., "peach brandy", "fruit brandy", "dried fruit brandy", or "pomace brandy"), and brandy

that has not been aged in oak for at least two years must be labelled as "immature".

In Canada, the regulations regarding naming conventions for brandy are basically similar to those the United States (provisions B.02.050 061), the minimum specified aging period is six months in wood (although not necessarily oak, provision B.02.061.2), and caramel, fruit, other botantical substances, flavourings, and flavouring preparations may also be included in a product called brandy (provisions B.02.050059).

The German term Weinbrand is equivalent to the English term "brandy", but outside the German-speaking countries it is used only for brandy from Austria and Germany. In Poland, brandy is sometimes called winiak, from wino (wine).

Types
There are three main types of brandy. The term "brandy" denotes grape brandy if the type is not otherwise specified.

Grape brandy

Grape brandy is produced by the distillation of fermented grapes.

Brandy de Jerez barrels aging

Albanian grape brandy (Raki e Rushi) is the most popular and traditional alcholic beverage in Albania and the Albanian regions of Eastern Montenegro.

American grape brandy is almost always from California.[4] Popular brands include Christian Brothers and Korbel.

Armenian brandy has been produced since the 1880s and comes from the Ararat plain in the southern part of Armenia. It was Winston

Churchill's favourite brandy. Bottles on the market are aged anywhere from 3 to 20 years. During the International Exhibition in Paris in 1900, the brandy received the Grand-Prix and the legal right to be called 'cognac', not 'brandy', following a blind degustation.

Armagnac is made from grapes of the Armagnac region in Southwest of France (Gers, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne). It is single-continuous distilled in a copper still and aged in oak casks from Gascony or Limousin. Armagnac was the first distilled spirit in France. Armagnacs have a specificity: they offer vintage qualities. Popular brands are Darroze, Baron de Sigognac, Larressingle, Delord, Laubade, Glas and Janneau.

Cognac comes from the Cognac region in France,[4] and is double distilled using pot stills. Popular brands include Hine, Martell, Camus, Otard, Rmy Martin, Hennessy, Frapin, Delamain and Courvoisier.

Brandy de Jerez is a brandy that originates from vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain.[11] It is used in some sherries and is also available as a separate product. It has a Protected

Designation of Origin (PDO). The traditional production method has three characteristics:
o

Aged in European oak casks with a capacity of 500 litres, previously having contained sherry.

The use of the traditional aging system of Criaderas and Soleras. Aged exclusively within the municipal boundaries of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Mara and Sanlcar de Barrameda in the province of Cdiz.[12]

Pisco is a strong, colorless brandy that comes from Ica Region in Peru made of aromatic and non-aromatic grapes. Chile produces Chilean Piscowhich is yellowish-to-amber colored brandy.

Portugal: Lourinh, located in western Portugal, is one of the few brandy-making areas, besides Cognac, Armagnac and Jerez, that have received appellation status.[citation needed]

South African grape brandies are, by law, made almost exactly as in Cognac, using a double-distillation process in copper pot stills followed by aging in oak barrels for a minimum of three years. Because of this, South African brandies are of a very high quality.

Cyprus brandy differs from other varieties in that its alcohol concentration is only 32% ABV.

Other countries: Grape brandy is also produced in many other countries, including Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.

The European Union and some other countries legally enforce the use of the name Cognac as the exclusive name for brandy produced and distilled in the Cognac area of France and the name Armagnac for brandy from the Gascony area of France, made using traditional techniques. Since these are considered PDO, they refer not just to styles of brandy but brandies from a specific region, i.e. a brandy made in California in a manner identical to the method used to make Cognac and which tastes similar to Cognac, cannot be called Cognac in places that restrict the use of that term to products made in the Cognac region of France (such places include Europe, the United States and Canada).

Fruit brandy

A bottle of Calvados, a French fruit brandy made from apples

Fruit brandies are distilled from fruits other than grapes. Apples, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, elderberries, raspberries, and blackberries, are the most commonly used fruits. Fruit brandy usually contains 40% to 45% ABV. It is usually colourless and is customarily drunk chilled or over ice.

Applejack is an American apple brandy, made from the distillation of hard cider. It was once made by fractional freezing, which would disqualify it as a proper brandy.

Buchu brandy is South African and flavoured with extracts from Agathosma species.

Calvados is an apple brandy from the French region of Lower Normandy. It is double distilled from fermented apples.

Damassine is a prune (the fruit of the Damassinier tree) brandy from the Jura Mountains of Switzerland

Coconut brandy is a brandy made from the sap of coconut flowers. Eau-de-vie is a general French term for fruit brandy (or even grape brandy that is not qualified as Armagnac or Cognac, including pomace brandy).

German Schnaps is fruit brandy produced in Germany or Austria. Kirschwasser is a fruit brandy made from cherries. Kukumakranka brandy is South African and flavoured with the ripe fruit of the Kukumakranka.

Plenka or "Plen" or name of fruit with suffix -ica, is common traditional expression for Slovak brandy. It only can be distilled from fruits, forrest or domestificated from Slovakia.

Plinka is a traditional Hungarian fruit brandy. It can only be made of fruits from Hungary, such as plums, apricots, peaches, elderberries, pears, apples or cherries.

Poire Williams (Williamine) is made from Bartlett pears (also known as Williams pears).

Rakia is a type of fruit brandy produced in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia; it may be made from plums, apples, quinces, pears, apricots, cherries, mulberries, grapes, or walnuts.

Slivovice is a strong fruit brandy made from plums. It is produced in Croatia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

uic is a clear Romanian fruit brandy made from plums, apples, pears, apricots, mulberries, peaches, quinces, or mixtures of these.

Romania and Moldova also produce a grape brandy called vin ars (burnt wine) or divin. Pomace brandy

Pomace brandy (also called marc in both English and French) is produced by fermentation and distillation of the grape skins, seeds, and stems that remain after grapes have been pressed to extract their juice (which is then used to make wine). Most pomace brandies are neither aged nor coloured. Examples of pomace brandy are:

Albanian Raki e Rushi Bulgarian/Macedonian grozdova Cretan tsikoudia Cypriot zivania French marc Georgian chacha Greek tsipouro

Hungarian trklyplinka Italian grappa Portuguese aguardente Romanian tescovin Serbian/Bosnian komovica Slovak vinovica Slovenian tropinovec Spanish orujo

COGNAC (BRANDY)
Cognac ( /knjk/ KON-yak), named after the town of Cognac in France, is a variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime. As an Appellation d'origine contrle, in order to bear the name Cognac, the production methods for the distilled brandy must meet specified legal requirements. It must be made from certain grapes (see below); of

these, Ugni Blanc, known locally as Saint-Emilion, is the most widely used variety today. It must be distilled twice in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronais. Most cognacs are aged considerably longer than the minimum legal requirement, because cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wine when aged in a barrel.

Producing region and legal definitions

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Map of the Cognac region

The region authorised to produce cognac is divided into six zones, including five crus broadly covering the department of CharenteMaritime, a large part of the department of Charente and a few areas in Deux-Svres and the Dordogne. The six zones are: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bon Bois and finally Bois Ordinaire. A blend of Grande and Petite Champagne Cognacs, with at least half coming from Grande Champagne, is known as Fine Champagne. Cognac-producing regions should not be confused with the northeastern region of Champagne, a wine region that produces sparkling wine by that name, although they do share a common etymology both being derivations of a French term for chalky soil.

Production process
Cognac is made from fruit brandy, called eau de vie in English, produced by doubly distilling the white wines produced in any of the growth areas.

Grapes

The wine is very dry, acidic, and thin, "virtually undrinkable", but excellent for distillation and aging. It may be made only from a strict list of grape varieties, if it is to carry the name of one of the crus then it must be at least 90% Ugni Blanc (known in Italy as Trebbiano), Folle Blanche and Colombard, although 10% of the grapes used can be Folignan, Juranon blanc, Meslier St-Franois (also called Blanc Ram), Slect, Montils or Smillon. Cognacs which are not to carry the name of a cru are freer in the allowed grape varieties, needing at least 90% Colombard, Folle Blanche, Juranon blanc, Meslier Saint-Franois, Montils, Smillon, or Ugni Blanc, and up to 10% Folignan or Slect.
Fermentation and distillation

A cognac pot still.

After the grapes are pressed, the juice is left to ferment for two or three weeks, with the region's native, wild yeasts converting the sugar into alcohol; neither sugar nor sulfur may be added. At this point, the resulting wine is about 7 to 8% alcohol. Distillation takes place in traditionally shaped Charentais copper stills, also known as an alembic, the design and dimensions of which are also legally controlled. Two distillations must be carried out; the resulting eau-de-vie is a colourless spirit of about 70% alcohol.
Aging

Once distillation is complete, it must be aged in oak for at least two years before it can be sold to the public. As the cognac interacts with the oak barrel and the air, it evaporates at the rate of about three percent each year, slowly losing both alcohol and waterBecause the alcohol dissipates faster than the water, cognac reaches the target 40% alcohol by volume in about four or five years, though lesser grades can be produced much sooner by diluting the cognac with water, which also makes its flavor less concentrated. Since oak barrels stop contributing to

flavor after four or five decades, cognac is then transferred to large glass carboys called bonbonnes, then stored for future blending.
Blending

The age of the cognac is calculated as that of the youngest eau-de-vie used in the blend. The blend is usually of different ages and (in the case of the larger and more commercial producers) from different local areas. This blending, or marriage, of different eaux-de-vie is important to obtain a complexity of flavours absent from an eau-de-vie from a single distillery or vineyard. Each cognac house has a master taster ( matre de chai), who is responsible for creating this delicate blend of spirits, so that the cognac produced by a company today will taste almost exactly the same as a cognac produced by that same company 50 years ago, or in 50 years' time.[citation needed] In this respect it is similar to the process of blending whisky or non-vintage Champagne to achieve a consistent brand flavor. A very small number of producers, such as Guillon Painturaud and Moyet, do not blend their final product from different ages of eaux-de-vie to produce a 'purer' flavour (a practice roughly

equivalent to the production of a single-cask Scotch whisky). Hundreds of vineyards in the Cognac AOC region sell their own cognac. These are likewise blended from the eaux-de-vie of different years, but they are single-vineyard cognacs, varying slightly from year to year and according to the taste of the producer, hence lacking some of the predictability of the better-known commercial products. Depending on their success in marketing, small producers may sell a larger or smaller proportion of their product to individual buyers, wine dealers, bars and restaurants, the remainder being acquired by larger cognac houses for blending. The success of artisanal cognacs has encouraged some larger industrial-scale producers to produce single-vineyard cognacs.

Grades

Martell VS (Very Special) cognac.

Boutrand Fine Champagne cognac.

According to the BNIC (Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac), the official quality grades of cognac are the following:

V.S. ("very special"),Very Special, or (three stars) designates a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least two years in cask.

V.S.O.P. ("very superior old pale")designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years in a cask, but the average wood age is much older.

XO ("extra old") designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least six years but on average for upwards of 20 years. On 1 April 2016, the minimum storage age of the youngest brandy used in an XO blend will be set to ten years.

The names of the grades are in English because the British market was long the primary market for cognac or, as explained in the FAQ of the BNIC website, because most of the main initial trading posts were created by people from Britain.

In addition the following can be mentioned:

Napoleon is, according to the BNIC, a grade equal to XO in terms of minimum age, but it is generally marketed in-between VSOP and XO in the product range offered by the producers.

Extra designates a minimum of 6 years of age, this grade is usually older than a Napoleon or an XO.

Vieux is another grade between the official grades of VSOP and XO. Vieille Rserve is, like the Hors dge, a grade beyond XO. Hors d'ge ("beyond age") is a designation which BNIC states is equal to XO, but in practice the term is used by producers to market a high quality product beyond the official age scale.

The crus where the grapes were grown can also be used to define the cognac, and give a guide to some of the flavour characteristics of the cognac:

Grande Champagne (13,766 hectares (34,020 acres)) Grande Champagne eaux de vie are long in the mouth and powerful, dominated by floral notes. The most prestigious of the crus.

"Champagne" derives from the Roman "Campania" meaning Plain, but is often explained with similarity in soil with the Champagne area at Rheims.

Petite Champagne (16,171 hectares (39,960 acres)) Petite Champagne eaux de vie have similar characteristics to those from Grande Champagne but are in general shorter on the palate. Cognacs made from a mixture of Grande and Petite Champagne eaux de vie (with at least 50% Grande Champagne) may be marketed as Fine Champagne.

Borderies (4,160 hectares (10,300 acres)) The smallest cru, eaux de vie from the Borderies are the most distinctive, with nutty aromas and flavour, as well as a distinct violet or iris characteristic. Cognacs made with a high percentage of these eaux de vie, for example, "Cordon Bleu" by Martell, are dominated by these very sought-after flavours.

Fins Bois (34,265 hectares (84,670 acres)) Heavier and faster ageing eaux de vie ideal for establishing the base of some blended cognacs. Fins Bois is rounded and fruity, with an agreeable oiliness.

Bons Bois

Bois Ordinaires (19,979 hectares (49,370 acres) together with Bons Bois). Further out from the four central growth areas are the Bons Bois and the Bois Ordinaires grown regions. With a poorer soil and very much influenced by the maritime climate, this area of 20,000 hectares produces eaux de vie that are less demonstrative and age more quickly. These less prestigious crus are excluded from blends by some smaller boutique manufacturers and are generally used for highvolume production.

The growth areas are tightly defined; there exist pockets with soils atypical of the area producing eaux de vie that may have characteristics particular to their location. Hennessy usually uses the unofficial brandy grades for its cognac offerings, but has also produced three single distillery cognacs, each with very distinctive flavours arising from the different soils and, to a lesser extent, climate. Other cognac houses, such as Moyet, exclusively use the crus to describe their different cognacs.

Companies and brands

While there are close to 200 cognac producers, a large percentage of cognac90% according to one 2008 estimateis produced by only four companies: Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, and Rmy Martin.[3][10] Other brands include: Bache-Gabrielsen/Dupuy, Braastad, Camus, Chateau Fontpinot, Delamain, Pierre Ferrand, Frapin, Gaston de Casteljac, Hine, Marcel Ragnaud, Moyet, Otard and Cognac Croizet.

Armagnac (BRANDY)
Armagnac (French pronunciation: [amaak]) is a distinctive kind of brandy or eau de vie produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of Armagnac grapes, including Baco 22A, Colombard, and Ugni Blanc, using column stills rather than the pot stills used in the production of Cognac. The resulting spirit is then aged in oak barrels before release. Production is overseen by INAO and the Bureau National

Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).

Armagnac was one of the first areas in France to begin distilling spirits, but the brandies produced have a lower profile than those from Cognac and the overall volume of production is far smaller. In addition they are for the most part made and sold by small producers, whereas in Cognac production is dominated by big-name brands.

History
Armagnac is the oldest brandy distilled in France, and in the past was consumed for its therapeutic benefits. In the 14th century, Prior Vital Du Four, a Cardinal, claimed it had 40 virtues. "It makes disappear redness and burning of the eyes, and stops them from tearing; it cures hepatitis, sober consumption adhering. It cures gout, cankers, and fistula by ingestion; restores the paralysed member by massage; and heals wounds of the skin by application. It enlivens the spirit, partaken in moderation, recalls the past to memory, renders men joyous, preserves youth and retards senility. And when retained in the

mouth, it loosens the tongue and emboldens the wit, if someone timid from time to time himself permits." Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Armagnac was traded on the markets of Saint-Sever, Mont-de-Marsan, and Aire-sur-l'Adour.

Subsequently, Dutch merchants began promoting the trade more widely.

Geography

Vineyards in the Armagnac region near Landes and Gers.

The Armagnac region lies between the Adour and Garonne rivers in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The region was granted AOC status in 1936. The official production area is divided into three districts that lie in the

departements of Gers, Landes, and Lot-et-Garonne. The region contains 40,000 acres (160 km) of grape-producing vines.[citation needed] The May 25, 1909 Fallieres decree describes the three districts:

Bas-Armagnac Armagnac-Tnarze Haut-Armagnac

Each of these areas is controlled by separate appellation regulations. More recently, a new appellation"Blanche d'Armagnac"was established to allow the production and export of clear, white brandies that are unaged.

Production
Armagnac is traditionally distilled once, which results initially in a less polished spirit than Cognac, where double distillation usually takes place. However, long aging in oak barrels softens the taste and causes the development of more complex flavours and a brown colour. Aging in the barrel removes a part of the alcohol and water by evaporation

(known as part des anges"angels' tribute" or "angels' share") and allows more complex aromatic compounds to appear by oxidation, which further improves the flavour. When the alcohol reaches 40%, the Armagnac can be transferred to large glass bottles (called "Dame Jeanne") for storage. From then on, the Armagnac does not age or develop further and can be bottled for sale from the next year on. Armagnac is sold under several different classifications, mostly referring to the age of the constituent brandies. When brandies of different ages have been blended, the age on the bottle refers to the youngest component. A three star, or "VS," Armagnac is a mix of several Armagnacs that have seen at least two years of aging in wood. For the VSOP, the aging is at least five years; and for XO, at least six. Hors d'ge means the youngest component in the blend is at least ten years old. Older and better Armagnacs are often sold as vintages, with the bottles containing Armagnac from a single year, the year being noted on the bottle.

As with any "eau de vie," Armagnac should be stored vertically to avoid damaging the stopper with alcohol. Once opened, a bottle should stay drinkable for years.

Grapes
Ten different varieties of Armagnac grapes are authorised for use in the production of Armagnac. Of these, four form the principal part: Armagnac Grapes:

Baco 22A Colombard Folle Blanche Ugni Blanc

Armagnac can also be added to other ingredients to produce liquors that are sold as another drink - the German company Vom Fass produces fruit liquors with Armagnac (they are about 16% alcohol).

Health benefits
Research conducted by scientists at Bordeaux University in 2007 suggested that Armagnac has health benefits, finding that moderate consumption can help protect against heart disease and obesity. The research seemed to indicate that the benefits derived from its unique distillation process and aging rather than from its alcoholic content. The southwestern area of France, where Armagnac is produced, has some of the lowest cardiovascular disease rates in the world.

Its share in international market

Brandy is an extremely diverse category and incorporates a broad range of products ranging from ultrapremium Cognacs or Armagnacs, some priced at thousands of dollars per bottle, to local unbranded products selling for a dollar or less. Although Cognac sales are dwarfed by nonCognac brandy in volume terms, the former is much more important from a value standpoint, and thus is the chief focus of this report.

In 2008, global Cognac sales fell for the first time in over 10 years, declining by 2.76% to 11.57m ninelitre cases. This follows a record year in 2007 when sales hit 11.9m cases. Today the Cognac industry derives roughly one-third each of its sales from Western Europe, the US and Asia. Bureau National

Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) CEO Jerome Durand says: This leaves the Cognac industry very well-balanced to manage the risk, even though it is a global crisis. Camus la Grande Marque CEO Cyril Camus says: Cognac is one of the few truly global products. It has a very high image and appeals to consumers everywhere... there is a very strong stable international base to Cognac consumption. That is a very reassuring factor in times like this. The Cognac industry has counter attacked Scotch's rise in many markets with a number of initiatives aimed at providing a point of differentiation and product story, and is ultimately taking the initiative back from the single malt producers. With over 27,000 words and 70 tables, this report provides the definitive review of the global Cognac and brandy markets, its brands and their strategies and distribution. Use this report to discover where the

opportunities lie in the global marketplace. Report overview: This chapter sets the scene and provides a backdrop to the report's findings, analysing the major trends and issues affecting the global Cognac/brandy market. This chaper contains the report's forecast data with world brandy and Cognac/Armagnac sales, years 2004-2014 are provided and the main region performances are commented upon. Extract: - Asia-Pacific was the best-performing market overall in 2008, up 3.9%. Six of the top growth markets are located there, and it is an important region for travel retail, the third fastest-growing market. The impact of the downturn is analysed and where there are bright spots to comment on (such as Asia- Pacific), the report provides commentary and analysis, ensuring you know exactly where to focus shortterm brand strategies on. Whether we're seeing a consumer trade-down Industry structure Supply and demand Regulatory changes

Marketing developments New product activity Mixability Cognac-based liqueurs Comparisons with single malt Gifting Extreme pricing The relationship between Cognac and non-Cognac brandy Subsidies This chapter analyses each key market worldwide and provides total sales volume for both brandy and Cognac by top brands and brand owners. Each market section contains commentary, analysis and exclusive interviews that provide a backdrop to the latest available data (actual 2003-2008 numbers). Travel retail is also quantified and discussed here. Extract:

Cognac was the only relevant imported spirits category to show sales growth (as opposed to shipments) in China in 2008, driven mainly by the Martell brand. Cognac sales rose by 6.6% to 1.56m cases, according to The IWSR. Cognac in China continues to perform strongly in its traditional Chinese entertainment channel, which Scotch finds hard to penetrate. The Cognac category is also more profitable than Scotch, with VSOP retailing at a 50% premium to 12-year-old Scotch brands. Moreover, the ultra-premium segment in Cognac (XO and over) is much larger than its Scotch equivalents, such as Royal Salute or Johnnie Walker Blue. All this makes the category more attractive than Scotch at importer, wholesaler and retailer levels. Pernod Ricard CEO Pierre Pringuet confirms: Martell in China is booming. Consumption for Cognac is very well-established in China, so it means that when people are less keen to buy foreign products, they will probably re-focus on their traditions and Cognac is much more in a position [to serve that] than Scotch whisky.