I was recently asked about brandy and Cognac and their various designations. So, let’s take a closer look at the similarities and differences between them.

It’s easiest to start off with brandy. Brandy refers to a wide range of spirits, made mostly from grape wine but sometimes also from other fruits (e.g., apricot brandy).

The name brandy is a shortened form of brandywine, which an anglicized form of Dutch brandewijn, which means "burnt wine". And, this is precisely what brandy is - burnt wine. Well… sort of.

To make brandy, wine is heated in a still until it separates into its components using the distillation process. So, put simply, brandy is distilled wine.

Like wine and whisky, brandy is often aged in wooden barrels, which increases flavor, complexity and color intensity. Unfortunately, the color of ‘aged’ brandy is sometimes created in low-quality, un-aged brandy by using food coloring such as caramel color (This is greatly frowned upon by most quality brandy producers!). For those producers that actually do age their brandy, the length of aging and the type of barrel used are both important elements in determining the final quality of the brandy.

Now, let’s get to Cognac. All Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac. Cognac is brandy that is made from the white wine grapes grown in the Cognac region of France.

Cognac is produced primarily from the Trebbiano grape (known as Ugni Blanc “ooo-nee blonk” in France), along with very small quantities of Folle Blanche and Colombard. French wine makers also have the option of using up to 10% of other grape varieties that include Folignan, Jurançon blanc, Meslier St-François, Montils, and Semillon.

The product of the Cognac distilling process is referred to by the French as eau-de-vie (“oh duh vee”), which means the “water of life.” At this point, it has a maximum alcohol content of 72.4% ABV (148.4 proof!) and is completely clear. The barrel aging process adds the color and enhances flavor. Pure, distilled or demineralized water is added to Cognac to make a finished product that is 40% ABV.

There are several designations used to differentiate Cognac. The “VS” designation means it is “Very Special” with two years minimum aging. VSOP is “Very Special/Superior Old Pale” and must be aged for a minimum of four years, while XO is “Extra Old” with a six-year minimum aging requirement if it was produced up to 2018; after 2018 that changed to a ten year minimum.

There are lots of brands of brandy but there are four major producers of Cognac that control approximately 90% of the market; Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin & Courvoisier.

Enjoy brandy or Cognac at room temperature in a bowl-shaped glass to capture its wonderful aroma. Cheers!

In recent posting we've addressed fortified wines including Port, Madeira and Marsala. All these wines are produced by adding either Brandy or neutral grape spirit to wines during the fermentation process or after fermentation is complete.

Without getting too much into the details of distilled spirits, Brandy (derived from the word brandywine, or burnt wine) and grape spirit are produced by heating wine to the point where the alcohol evaporates and is collected separately. Fortified winemakers then use these distilled alcohols to increase the alcohol levels in fermented wines.

While grape spirit is simply neutral-flavored grape alcohol, Brandy takes this grape alcohol one step further by aging it in wooden casks to smooth out the flavor of this otherwise harsh alcohol and give it its unique flavor.

Other popular fortified wines include Sherry and Vermouth. Sherry, from Spain, is typically fortified with Brandy after fermentation is complete to produce a dry fortified wine. There are sweet styles of Sherry but the finer ones, from Spain, are dry. The Spanish Sherries are made in multiple styles:

Dry Sherry: Made predominately from the Palomino grape:

Fino & Manzanilla - Very light in flavor. Can have salty fruit flavors.
Amontillado - A bit bolder with nutty flavors.
Palo Cortado - This is much richer with roasted flavors of molasses and coffee.
Oloroso - This style is intentionally exposed to oxygen during aging resulting its dark appearance and nutty flavors.

Sweet Sherry: Made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes:

Pedro Ximéniz (PX) - This is the sweetest style with flavors dates and figs.
Moscatel - This has sweet caramel flavors.
Sweet Sherry: A blend of Oloroso and PX Sherry.

Vermouth is another fortified wine originally from Italy. Vermouth is produced from neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must. Producers then add additional alcohol and their own mixture of botanical products including fruits, herbs, spices and roots. After the wine is aromatized and fortified, the Vermouth may be bottled dry, or sweeteners such as sugar may be added to create the sweet style of Vermouth.

So during the past few entries we've made a quick pass through the most popular fortified wines. Next, we'll investigate dessert wines. Cheers!