Irv Bliss’ early years as a farmer were occupied with growing pears, prunes, walnuts, and a large family garden just outside of Healdsburg, in Sonoma County, California. Although successful, for years Bliss nursed the vision of planting a vineyard in Mendocino, which he believed to be one of the best places around to grow grapes. In 1943, he purchased a plot of land in southern Mendocino County, and immediately planted the vineyard of his dreams. In the early days, in addition to growing grapes on the property, Bliss farmed figs and raised sheep and cattle. At some point in the 1970s, all 100 acres of the land was converted to grape production, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. Continue reading “Brutocao Quadriga”
The Fratelli [Brothers] Barba winery, completed in 1991, is in Scerne di Pineto, at the foot of the Colle Morino hills. This relatively young winery prides itself on using the latest technology and equipment, especially after a major renovation in 2005.
This Montepulciano is nicely rustic. It was fermented for about ten days in conical oak vats, and then aged in the winery’s air-conditioned cellars.
The fruit is there (primarily stone fruits like cherry and plum), but in the old world, slightly under ripe, style. Structure comes from a robust punch of tannins, particularly evident after an hour and a half or so of breathing. The initial taste is surprisingly “hot,” even with a respectable alcohol level of 13%.
During summer, scrape off that grill and pair this Montepulciano with black pepper / ancho beef filets, barbequed porterhouse steaks, beer-simmered bratwurst with grilled onions and ‘kraut, or lamb chops with fresh thyme and grilled lemons.
Pasquinet is a family-rooted Grande Champagne producer/distiller based at Domaine du Foucaudat in Juillac-le-Coq, with estate vineyards, its own distilling tradition, old stocks, and a history stretching back well before the Pasquinet brand itself was created. The primary terroir is Grande Champagne, Cognac’s premier cru, with an estate size of about 22 hectares (54 acres).
Pasquinet says Domaine du Foucaudat has been a family wine property since 1860. The modern Cognac operation, however, is associated with Jean Ricard, born January 23, 1906, in France’s eastern Pyrenees. He originally ran a successful renovation/construction business. Work on several Cognac houses brought him to the region, where he became fascinated with distillation. He subsequently acquired Domaine du Foucaudat and spent years learning and refining the craft of distillation.
Jean Ricard
After World War II, Jean’s children Gilbert and Jeannette Ricard took over the family business. In 1943 they created the Pasquinet Cognac trademark, describing it as a symbol of strength and renewal following the war. The brand apparently enjoyed enough success in France and elsewhere in Europe that the family constructed a substantial bottling and packaging facility next to the estate.
Gilbert and Jeannette Ricard
The next generation was Patrick Ricard, who assumed control in 1985. Interestingly, Patrick had previously worked as a dealer in antiques and fine art. Pasquinet credits his aesthetic interests with influencing both the house’s presentation and its approach to Cognac.
Patrick Ricard
Then came Nicolas Ricard. After working internationally in Europe and South America, Nicolas returned to the family operation and has represented the new generation since 2012.
Nicholas Ricard
The Domaine du Foucaudat estate is just south of Segonzac, essentially ground zero for Grande Champagne Cognac. Grande Champagne is prized for its highly chalky soils and eaux-de-vie that can be extraordinarily floral and fine, but often require prolonged maturation before reaching their potential.
The Pasquinet estate.
Is Pasquinet an estate Cognac or a négociant? Both, apparently. Pasquinet owns Grande Champagne vineyards and distills Cognac at Domaine du Foucaudat. But it also operates within a commercial structure associated with Euro-Négoce, whose address is itself listed as Le Foucaudat in Juillac-le-Coq. So I would not assume every bottle of Pasquinet consists exclusively of grapes grown on their 22 hectares unless the particular bottle makes that claim, which the VS does not.
The Pasquinet Charentais copper still.
Pasquinet VS Cognac
The house says this VS is assembled from selected eaux-de-vie traditionally distilled and aged in Limousin oak for approximately two to four years. It presents a medium golden amber in the glass. The nose delivers fresh fruit, particularly orange peel, and vanilla. These continue on the palate, plus some young oak, honied sweetness and a peppery finish. Very approachable, and suitable for both sipping neat and cocktails. The ABV is the usual 40%.
Listen to my podcast about brandy, Cognac, and Armagnac here.
A note about brandy vs. Cognac: brandy is a liquor distilled from wine and aged in wood. (Brandy can be made from fruits other than grapes as well, but that’s a story for another time.) Cognac is brandy that specifically comes from the town of Cognac and the delimited surrounding areas in western France. (The one which has the most favorable soil and geographical conditions is Grande Champagne.) So, all Cognacs are brandy, but not all brandies are Cognac. For more detail on brandy and Cognac, click here.
Celebrity-backed brandy and Cognac is a notable and growing trend, heavily propelled by hip-hop culture and high-profile music and sports partnerships. High-visibility labels like Jay-Z’s D’USSÉ and 50 Cent’s Branson Cognac have proven that celebrity ownership can turn niche or traditional French spirits into major market contenders.
Tycoon is just such a celebrity Cognac, this one involving Earl “E-40” Stevens, a longtime California rapper, record-label owner, and entrepreneur. The spirit is produced in the Cognac region of France, of course. But I cannot find reliable evidence identifying the actual distiller/négociant supplying the eaux-de-vie. Tycoon doesn’t identify the Cognac house behind the liquid, or really any other details. Continue reading “Tycoon VS Cognac”
Couvignac is produced by Distillerie de Chevanceaux/SVE (Société des Vins et Eaux-de-Vie), a long-established family distillery in Saint-Palais-de-Négrignac, south of Cognac. It is a substantial, multigenerational, family-owned Cognac distiller, grower, blender, cellar operator, and spirits producer whose roots lie in supplying and producing eaux-de-vie rather than building an internationally famous Cognac house name. The Cognac distillery at the present site was founded in 1896 by Louis Gautriaud, formerly a bouilleur de cru—essentially a grower-distiller. His son Ernest took over after 1926, followed by grandson Robert after 1956. The company’s own modern family history traces the family’s involvement in growing, distilling, aging, and blending Cognac back further, to 1830. Julien Nau and his sister Marie represent the latest generation of the family. Continue reading “Couvignac VS Cognac”
Maison Monnet is one of those Cognac houses that is much better known in Europe than in the United States. It has a legitimate historical pedigree, an unusually interesting connection to European history, and a recognizable house style built around fruit, flowers, warmth, and softness rather than aggressive oak. Monnet itself describes this as its “sunny” style.
The house traces its origins to 1838, but the business that became Monnet actually began as the Société des Propriétaires Vinicoles de Cognac, a cooperative organized by Pierre-Antoine de Salignac and local growers. Jean-Gabriel Monnet took control in 1897, and the J.-G. Monnet name began appearing as a brand shortly thereafter. Continue reading “Monnet VS Cognac”
Bache Gabrielsen VS Tre Kors (“Three Crosses”) is a particularly interesting VS because there’s a genuine story behind the name, and the Cognac itself is more characterful than I’d expect from a basic VS [Very Special].
Bache Gabrielsen is unusual among Cognac houses because its roots are Norwegian rather than French. Thomas Bache-Gabrielsen came to Cognac from Norway in 1903, at about age 20, initially to develop his family’s wine-and-spirits business. He met his future wife Odette, the daughter of local winegrowers, and decided to remain in France. In 1905, Thomas and fellow Norwegian Peter Rustad bought the existing Cognac house A. Edmond Dupuy, which dated to 1852. That became Maison Bache Gabrielsen. (The origin story of Bache Gabrielsen is curiously similar to that of the Cognac house founded by Jens Reidar Larsen.)
Carvalho, Ribeiro & Ferreira is one of the historic names in Portuguese wine-based spirits, and 1920 is its inexpensive, everyday brandy rather than its prestigious old aguardentes. It has a surprisingly tangled history, though—and there are some contradictory stories in circulation about exactly how the name “1920” originated.
Cognac is a type of brandy, but brandy is the much larger category. The simplest analogy is: Cognac is to brandy what Champagne is to sparkling wine.
What exactly is brandy?
Brandy is a spirit distilled from fermented fruit, most commonly grapes. The word comes from the Dutch brandewijn, meaning “burned wine”—wine concentrated by distillation.
Most of what we casually call brandy is grape brandy. To make it, wine is fermented, distilled into a spirit, and usually matured in oak. But “brandy” is a very broad family. It encompasses:
Cognac and Armagnac from France
Brandy de Jerez from Spain
American brandy
South African brandy
Italian and other European grape brandies
Fruit brandies made from apples, pears, cherries, plums, etc.
Some people claim that “brandy isn’t as good as Cognac,” but that doesn’t really make sense. Cognac is brandy, and there are non-Cognac brandies capable of competing with excellent Cognacs. Continue reading “Brandy vs. Cognac. What’s the difference?”
Trésor Fédéral VSOP is an entry-level Moldovan grape brandy that has only recently appeared in the U.S. market. It isn’t widely known among brandy enthusiasts, and there is relatively little publicly available information compared with established brandy names like St-Rémy, Torres, or a slew of Cognac producers. Here’s what I pieced together from importer information, retailers, and Moldovan brandy traditions.
One of the bottle’s strongest selling points is that its made in Moldova, one of Europe’s oldest wine-producing countries. Winemaking dates back there roughly 5,000 years. The country has over 100,000 hectares [247,000 acres] of vineyards and a climate remarkably similar to Bordeaux. Many excellent Eastern European brandies come from Moldova, although they are much less famous than Cognac or Armagnac.
Larsen is one of Cognac’s more distinctive houses—not because it is one of the oldest, but because it combines a Nordic heritage with a very elegant, fruit-driven Cognac style. While houses such as Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin, and Courvoisier trace their roots back to the 18th century, Larsen was founded in 1926 by a Norwegian adventurer, making it a relative newcomer with an unusually international identity.
The rather unassuming distillery. Photo: Rolf Johansen.
Cognac has been sold under the Ferrand name since the 18th century, spanning 10 generations of producers, beginning with the birth of the first Elie Ferrand in the small town of Segonzac in 1630 (nine more Elies would follow). In 1989, Alexandre Gabriel partnered with Pierre Ferrand, the living heir of the family, to develop a line of Cognacs. Once Pierre Ferrand retired in 1993, Gabriel became sole proprietor.
Alexandre Gabriel
In short order, Gabriel bought the Logis d’Angeac distillery, built in 1776 and located in the heart of the Grande Champagne region of Cognac. He also purchased the 18th century Chateau de Bonbonnet, once owned by the Martell family, and turned it into his home as well as Ferrand’s state-of-the-art blending facility and offices. The company owns vineyards, restores historic copper pot stills, and performs production largely in-house.
If Cognac represents the pinnacle of French grape brandy, Carlos I Brandy de Jerez is one of Spain’s great answers to it. Produced by Bodegas Osborne, it is arguably the flagship premium Brandy de Jerez, and has done more than almost any other brand to elevate Spanish brandy from an everyday digestif to a world-class sipping spirit.
Founded in 1772, Osborne is one of Spain’s oldest continuously operating wine and spirits companies. It was established in El Puerto de Santa María, in Cádiz province, at the heart of the Sherry Triangle. The company remains family-owned after more than 250 years.
Bodegas Osborne. Photo: Alvaro Barba Lopez
The company traces its roots to Thomas Osborne Mann, an English merchant who settled in Andalusia to trade sherry. During the 18th and 19th centuries, British merchants played an enormous role in developing the export market for Sherry wines, and Osborne became one of the most successful.
Rémy Martin is one of the world’s oldest and best known Cognac brands, with selections that range, at my local liquor store at least, from the $13 St. Remy French brandy to the $9000 Rémy Martin Louis XIII Time Collection: City of Lights – 1900. (I have tried one of these, but not both.)
Rémy Martin was founded in 1724 in the Cognac region of France by Paul-Emile Rémy Martin. He was born in 1695 near Rouillac in southwestern France, the son of a vine grower. At 19, he married the daughter of a local notary, and 10 years later, in 1724, he established a Cognac trading house. On his death in 1773, the business passed to his grandson, also named Rémy, who was also the local tax collector. In time, his son inherited the business, which saw a four-fold increase in the region’s trade between 1810 and the early 1820s. In 1841, Paul-Emile-Rémy Martin (the family gave just about every male heir the same name, apparently) assumed control and oversaw even greater growth. He introduced the innovation of selling in bottles as well as the traditional casks. An early and skillful marketer, he added a logo to the bottles and cases; a centaur after Sagittarius, Martin’s zodiac sign, and registered the firm’s first trademarks in 1874. Following him, as so often happens in dynastic families, the fifth-generation proprietor nearly bankrupted the operation. Continue reading “St. Rémy Signature French Brandy”
This pizza features chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, and olives.
Pizza Marengo
Chicken Marengo was created by Napoleon’s cook, Dundand, at Marengo, a small town in the Piedmont region of Italy. Napoléon had just defeated the Austrians on June 14, 1800, and, so the story goes, was famished. Dundand, however, had very little to work with, the commissary having been left behind because Napoléon was in hot pursuit. So he foraged around and came up with some chicken, tomatoes, garlic , and crayfish–some fried eggs got in the picture somewhere, too.
Well, the contemporary version of chicken (and veal) Marengo does not include either crayfish or eggs but rather onions, mushrooms, and olives. Here it is in pizza form.
THE DOUGH
THE DOUGH
Start dough at 4p for dinner between 7p and 8p
1 cup warm water (90 to 110 degrees F.)
2 tsp instant-rise yeast
3-1/4 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil (extra virgin not necessary)
Combine ingredients and knead by hand for 10 minutes or machine
for two to five minutes. Coat dough ball in a thin film of olive oil or cooking spray, cover in plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size.
