Category: The Cognac Process

By the mid-20th century the ‘big two’ cognac houses had become the ‘big four’ with Courvoisier and Remy Martin selling substantial quantities to both the Asian and American markets.  Demand from major cities such as Detroit and Cleveland really helpedRead more

The end of World War II ushered in nearly 30 years of increasing cognac prosperity. The body that was formed to monitor the quality and movement of cognac was known as the Bureau National Interprofessionel du Cognac (BNIC). It managedRead more

Many of the established growers and merchants recognised the need to establish a body to control and manage the quality and sale of cognac. Much of the preliminary work had been done before the Second World War and a greatRead more

The Phylloxera outbreak in 1872 was, in hindsight, the best thing which could have happened to the growers and viniculturists in the Charente. Instead of just producing cognacs for blending, they had to start thinking about what their customers wanted. Read more

One of the biggest changes in cognac production in the 19th century was the change of grape from the Folle, or Folle Blanche as we know it today, to the Ugni Blanc after the Phylloxera outbreak in 1872. The CognaçaisRead more

Replanting after the Phylloxera outbreak did not restore prosperity.  After the First World War came Prohibition in the United States and crippling state duties in Britain as well as State monopolies in Canada and Norway.  Things became so bad thatRead more

The prosperity from the trade with Britain in the late 1800s was sadly doomed as production rose even faster than consumption. Thousands of acres were planted with vines to supply the anticipated surge in sales.  This threatened overproduction was however,Read more

In the decades after the fall of Napoleon, newly rich merchants like Messrs Otard and Dupuy built large houses in the woods around the town and with the growth of other firms, such as Martell and Hennessy, the town expandedRead more

In 1789 the locals around Cognac were preoccupied, not with the matters in Paris with the ancien régime but with the frost of the previous winter.  It would have reduced the townspeople to near starvation had it not been forRead more

The tradition of quality was slow to develop but was largely in keeping with the local temperament. During the 17th century the Champagnes, known today as the best growing areas, improved steadily and just as the region had produced theRead more