The origins and history of Cognac Cognac is a brandy, meaning a spirit produced from distilled wine (like Armagnac and sherry). It is also referred to as an “eau de vie” in a wine context, but most importantly it was the first brandy to establish its name (in the 17th century), most successfully in the British market. From the beginning, Cognac was always considered a product for export. It was first exported to England where it is still popular today, and from the end of the 16th century, the Netherlands began importing. A hugely important maritime and trading power at the time, the Dutch saw demand growing for wine spirits, especially from France and Spain and took advantage. It was the Dutch who introduced the distillation of these wines directly on site, in Charente, as there were conservation and transport problems (the wine was spoiling in transit). The first barrels of eau de vie distilled in the region were exported, complete, in 1549. From the 17th century, the distilleries in Cognac began to stand out from other local varieties. It was considered to be of higher quality (because the wines had a very pleasant acidic base); it also coincided with the development of barrel-aging which clearly improved the quality of the spirits. Cognac became good enough to be tasted by itself, without having to be diluted with water. Standing out from the crowd, Cognac was growing rapidly in England. The term "coniack brandy" first appeared in the London Gazette in 1678. Until the middle of the 19th century, Cognacs were consumed quickly, without taking the time to let them age. In the years that followed, increased demand led to a much larger area being planted, which led to overproduction and a collapse in prices (in 1877, 280,000 hectares were cultivated, compared to 75,000 today). Phylloxera (disease) resulted in the destruction of 85% of the planted in about fifteen years. The vineyards were replanted with American rootstocks, favouring the Ugni Blanc grape variety and the best terroirs. In 1936, the AOC designation came into law and protected the appellation. After the Second World War, Cognac did well in the years known as the Les 30 glorieuses or “30 Glorious Years”. Of course, this led to an unsustainable boom in the vineyard, which the market could not fully absorb, and has never fully recovered to peak levels. Today, the Cognac industry is highly regulated and structured, the number of producers has drastically reduced, and production is concentrated in the hands of a few very large houses. The four largest groups, Hennessy, Rémy Martin, Martell, and Courvoisier count for more than 70% of the market, buying directly from the winegrowers. Today, the United States is the biggest importer of Cognac. It is both a mature market and has also been heavily invested in by the Cognac Houses. The high level of cocktail consumption in the US also makes Cognac an attractive import. East Asia represents another big export market for Cognac (China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan). Today, there is renewed consumer interest in the drink among younger American consumers and cocktail lovers.
Where is Cognac made?