First of all, brandy
Brandy, a specialty of French cognac? It is made from a pale white wine by twice distillation and stored in oak barrels for edification and maturity. Hennessy dry brandy can be drunk in a brandy glass (without water) or in a flat glass with ice or water. When eating Chinese food, it can be used with meals and drunk after meals to help digestion. Brandy is an expensive gift whenever and wherever.
1. Introduction
All cognac is brandy, but not all cognac is brandy.
According to the French federal appraisal standard, "cognac" must be grape brandy distilled from the cognac district of France, where about 250,000 mu of unique sandy chalk soil, coupled with a mild climate, has become an ideal environment for growing grapes.
Nine liters of white wine, after two distillation procedures, can make one liter of cognac. Distillers are all made of red copper, and the basic design has not changed for 500 years. Each distillation takes as long as 12 hours. The wine after the second distillation is called "water of life" by the French, but these spicy new wines have to be cultivated for a long time to deserve the good name of cognac.
It plays an important role in the process of wine storage in wooden barrels. Only in some forest areas of France, solid oak specially planted for wine making will be made into wine barrels. Although the wine cellar is very cold, the longer the cognac is stored, the more the wine will volatilize in the oak barrels, which is commonly known as "the fairy is soaring" in the industry.
2. Brand introduction
1750, Richard Hennessy, a former Irish official of the French king, chose this land for development. The company he founded became the largest dry brandy manufacturer in the world.
Hennessy not only grows its own grapes and brews new wine by distillation, but also buys grapes and new wine from independent growers and producers, but these grapes must be produced in four best growing areas. Dry brandy produced in different producing areas has different characteristics in different years, but it softens Hennessy's unique personal style. In order to ensure the first-class quality of products, it is extremely common for sommeliers to try hundreds of times at any time to brew fine wine.
Brandy brewing technology is exquisite, with special emphasis on aging time and blending skills, in which the length of aging time is an important standard to measure the quality of brandy. Brandy stored in oak barrels by various manufacturers in cognac area has been 40-70 years. They use wines from different years and carefully blend them according to the secret recipes handed down from generation to generation to create cognac with different qualities and styles. Brandy is very particular about the oak barrels used to store wine. Because oak barrels have a great influence on wine quality, the selection of wood and the making of barrels are very strict. The best oak comes from Muzan and is soaked in cognac.
Because the quality and grade of brandy are closely related to its aging time in oak barrels, it is very important to brew brandy. Regarding the specific year of brewing, according to the regulations of the French government, the aging time stipulated by each winery is different. What needs to be emphasized here is that the quality of brandy changes only in oak barrels during storage, and the quality of brandy will not change after bottling.
3. Related history
/kloc-At the beginning of the 0/7th century, other parts of France began to follow the example of distilled wine in Cognac town, and gradually spread from France to wine-producing countries in Europe and even the world.
In a.d. 170 1 year, France was involved in the "war of succession to the Spanish throne" and French brandy was also banned. Wine merchants must store brandy at an appropriate time. They made oak barrels from the oak rich in Conek town and stored brandy in them. 1704 after the war, the wine merchants unexpectedly found that the original colorless brandy turned into a beautiful amber color, and the wine did not deteriorate, and the flavor was stronger. Since then, aging in oak barrels has become an important production procedure of cognac. This production process has also spread rapidly to all parts of the world.
After AD 1887, France changed the packaging of brandy for export from single barrel to barrels and bottles. With the improvement of product packaging, the value of cognac has also increased, and the sales volume has steadily increased. According to statistics, the annual sales of cognac exported at that time had reached 300 million francs.
4. Global sales
In 20 14, the shipment quantity of cognac Prynne was 654.38+556 million bottles, with a total value of 265.438+27 million euros. Compared with the same period, the shipment volume has declined, but the total value has continued a stable trend, successfully achieving an excellent performance of 2 billion euros for four consecutive years. This is what we recently learned from the annual report issued by the French National Cognac Industry Administration (BNIC).
According to statistics, the export volume of cognac accounts for 98% of the total output and is sold to 158 countries. According to the distribution of 20 14 export areas, North America accounts for 38%, the Far East accounts for 30% and Europe accounts for 25%.
China is the third largest cognac sales market after the United States and Singapore. From August 2065438 1 to July 20 14, 3 1 You15.5 million bottles were delivered to China. It is worth noting that Changyu Company, the largest producer of wine and brandy in China, entered the cognac producing area in 20 13 and acquired Roullet-Fransac, which was founded in 1838. 1 1 At the "Changyu Pioneer International Winery Alliance Manufacturers Seminar and Fulangduo New Product Launch Conference" held in Guangdong Province last year. Sun Hongbo, general manager of Fulando Winery, said: "Our goal is to build Fulando into an international brand with the same reputation as Martell, Hennessy and remy martin in the China market after several years' efforts!
Second, Armagnac brandy.
Armagnac brandy, also known as Earl of Monte Royal Armagnac brandy, is a French wine with noble oak and vanilla flavor. Full-bodied, harmonious in taste and long and smooth in aftertaste. Suitable for all kinds of food.
1. Basic information
Winery/producer: Earl of Monte
Grape variety: grape water, sugar, caramel color.
Producer: Jiumei.com.
Grade: XO
Alcohol concentration: 40% by volume
Origin: Armagnac.
Honor: 20 1 1 In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Count Montevsop won the double gold and Count Montexo won the silver medal.
Best enjoyment period: long term.
Food Matching: Suitable for all kinds of food.
Suggested storage conditions: Keep it in a dark place and avoid direct sunlight.
2. Introduction to the Castle
Armagnac, Earl of Monte, was born at the beginning of 65438+5th century, and is one of the oldest brandies in the world. Its founder, Pierre de Montt, is a direct descendant of Count D 'Artagnan, the most famous member of the Count Montt family. The history of the Earl of Monte family is closely related to the history of Armagnac wine. This is the first family to brew Armagnac brandy in wooden barrels.
Count Mont's family entrusted the master wine cellar to select four different varieties of grapes from the best vineyards, and distilled the water of life in a small professional brewery, retaining the unique characteristics of Count Mont Armagnac.
Count Monte has won many awards in various international spirits competitions. 20 1 1 In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Count Monte VSOP won both gold medals and Count Monte XO won the silver medal. Hundreds of years ago in France, the Earl of Armagnac and the Duke of FenGinsac of the Mont family were famous for their exemplary loyalty to France. Now, Count XO of Monte is known to the world for his extraordinary brewing art, which is popular in the whole French upper class and admired by famous wine spectator and collectors.
Detailed introduction
This wine has a noble oak and vanilla flavor. Full-bodied, harmonious in taste and long and smooth in aftertaste. Suitable for all kinds of food.