The BNIC has announced on August 30th 2010 the  status on the cognac grapes! To put it with the words of one of our readers: “Grow, Henny, Grow.”
It’s hot, hot, hot in Charente: last thursday there was a heat wave at 36°C  at certain sites – and no real rain, …

Cloesup photos are a great thing: here come 14 pictures of a vineyard in Charente, France.
We decided to take these close ups – to really see, very closely. Let’s start with a Cognac XO from Maine Giraud:
Close up of a XO Cognac bottle Maine Giraud
And here you see the wood …

It’s the thing you always wanted to do: Buy a wineyard in France. The dream of owning you own little wine production. And as Cognac is made from grapes – of course you would acquire your vineyard in Charente. But, “attention”: it is a very specialized investment.
young vineyard in Cognac
As …

If you wonder: How much does one hectare (10 000 square metres, 2.47 acres, once the Trafalgar Square) of Cognac vineyard cost, you’ll find the answer in this article… and also the general development of agricultural soil prices and business in France.
The business of buying and selling land in the …

The frost injury of October 2009 becomes visible in the vineyards of Cognac … frost injury in Charente.
Vineyards of Charente (pic russell-photo)
A significant part of the new plantations in the Cognac region has been affected by the frost of autumn 2009. Following a particularly soft (early October) that kept the …

About the house of Croizet, article and a great documentary film (see below, three parts) explaining the Cognac business and production process in general.
Croizet Logo
The story of Croizet begins  in 1805. Léon Croizet, a member of a family of vineyard owners established in Grande Champagne since the 16th Century, had …

Over a dozen hectares of Rémy Martin vineyards use “sexual confusion” in order to protect the plants from harmful butterflies and moths. A very special method is used, that heavily confuses the insects that are harmful to grapes. Yes! It is the libido-trap for a moth.
cochylis moth
Those poor butterflies …

The Château des Plassons in the south of the Bons Bois area
I take the car and get on my way to a “lieu dit” Château des Plassons on a Sunday afternoon in March 2010. I had heard that two young brothers took over a Cognac distillery nearby. Interesting, I …

There is a sense of Cognac in the Metro of Paris. On my trip to Paris I had to stop while taking the underground Metro and take some pictures of what I saw: The Poitou Charente administration launched a tourism campaign for the Charente region, underlining the beauty of the …

Pineau des Charentes or just ‘Pineau’ is a French aperitif. The drink is actually not very well known abroad, but in Charente it plays a rather important role.

Pineau is fortified wine, vin de liqueur, blended of slightly fermented grape must and eaux-de-vie (Cognac). Pineau should be served chilled, at 8 …

The history of Cognac actually starts in the third century. The region and the beverage Cognac has a long history and involves all kind of nations, merchants, kings and aristocrats, natural catastrophes, wars and cold winters. Despite all this, the product kept getting better and better, century after century. Read …

Cognacs are created by blending different spirits (eaux-de-vie). The eau-de-vie is made through a special distillation process where the grapes are distilled twice. The white wines, which are used for distilling, can only be produced in the region of the Charente, more specifically the area surrounding the town called Cognac. …

Basically, this is how it goes: Farmers grow and produce wine, distill the eau-de-vie (spirit) and make their own Cognac. But some companies, especially the bigger ones, buy different eaux-de-vie from the different growing areas and blend their Cognacs.
Cognac landscape with roman church
Here are some basics one should know:

About …

Forget about vodka… Because Russian investors have been turning their attention to Cognac. Corporations are trying to take over traditional French family-run companies in the Cognac region. Are the Russians finally conquering the Cognac market? As the matter stands, Russian participation in the business has a long-standing tradition and they …