In the Southwest of France, near the city of Bordeaux, on the Charente River lies the city of Cognac, which gave its name to the now world-famous strong drink. The city owes its birth, in essence, to Roman settlements on the banks of the river. The Romans called it Conniacum, later the name was simplified.
Then the Vandals replaced the Romans, followed by the Visigoths, and then the Arabs came. Around the year 850, Vikings arrived from the sea and settled in the city for three hundred years. In 1152, Eleanor (Aliénor, Alenora) of Aquitaine (who inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine after the death of her father William X and brother) married the Norman Count Henry of Anjou, the future King of England Henry II Plantagenet, and in 1154 Aquitaine passed into the possession of the English kings.
During the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453), the city changed allegiance countless times from French to English. In the 15th century, the bloodiest battle between Catholics and Protestants took place near Cognac. Among the city’s attractions are the towers of the Saint James gate, dated 1499, overlooking the waterfront; the castle and the church of Saint-Leger (built in 1130) with three naves from the 13th – 14th centuries and a Gothic ‘rose’ from the 15th century; the Valois castle, built around 950 (the Otard cognac house is located in the castle); the church of Saint Martin with remnants of the Merovingian cemetery (the Merovingians were French kings who proclaimed themselves descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene). The Museum of History and Art in the city landscape park, the Museum of Arts, the Cognac Museum (opened in 2004), and the town hall in a picturesque park.
In the vicinity of the city, there are several ancient castles.
Local residents casually mention historical monuments, as if in passing. You can only touch a nerve by asking about cognac. The first vineyards appeared in the Charente valley in the last two decades of the 3rd century AD, during the time of the Roman Emperor Probus, who allowed the Gauls living there to cultivate vineyards and engage in winemaking. The city is literally soaked in this noble drink: poured into barrels, cognac loses about 2.5% of its volume each year. The vapors are poetically called ‘the angels’ share’. One can try to imagine how many noble vapors linger in the air, as the number of barrels stored in the city’s cellars is counted in the tens of thousands. According to local legend, if you believe and listen, in the light mist that envelops Cognac, the wings of tipsy yet still beautiful celestial beings rustle. Passionate cognac enthusiasts swoon even as they approach the city. Next to the main sign marking the start of its boundary, there are signs for ‘Martell’, ‘Hennessy’, ‘Otard’, ‘Courvoisier’, ‘Camus’. Each major cognac house conducts tours of its estates.
You will visit the Hennessy cognac distillery, whose cellars are located on the banks of the river, where you will go on a pleasure boat. You will learn how simple white wine is transformed into nectar. At the end of the tour, you will be able to taste the best samples of the products and buy exclusive cognacs available in the shop at the Hennessy distillery.
At Camus, you can become the master of cognac making. You will be offered several cognac spirits to mix, bottle, label with a personal label, and of course… take home with you. There is an opportunity after this initiation into the cognac craft (as you will receive a diploma) to have lunch in the family castle of the Camus family to celebrate this event.
Or, if you are a fan of LOUIS XIII cognac from Remy Martin, you can spend the day in the company of this exceptional cognac. You will have lunch in the cradle of the Remy Martin family, where the best cognac spirits are aged for many decades in centuries-old cellars, which will be part of this cognac.
After getting acquainted with the production of cognac, it is time to relax. Enriched with experience, head out for a ride on the river tram along the Charente. The clean and calm river is very beautiful. You can descend down it to the Atlantic Ocean on an old wooden barge. In the past, cognac was transported on these vessels to seaports for further export.
By the end of the 17th century, the first cognac houses were established, some of which still exist today. They collected cognac and established connections with buyers from Holland, England, and Northern Europe, later expanding to America and the Far East. More and more trading houses opened, and by the mid-19th century, they began to transport spirits in bottles rather than barrels. This new form of trade gave a boost to industries such as glass, cork, and packaging production, as well as labels for cognac products. By that time, vineyards occupied almost 280 thousand hectares. However, in 1875, the phylloxera virus destroyed a huge amount of grapes, reducing vineyards to 40 thousand hectares by 1893. The phylloxera problem arose when the most harmful ‘fungal’ diseases of grapes and the most dangerous pest phylloxera were brought from America to Europe. Numerous studies and observations have established that while ‘fungal’ diseases can only destroy the harvest in certain years, phylloxera with pathogenic microflora completely destroys the grape plant in just a few years.
During the first quarter of the 20th century, vineyards slowly recovered, using American investments, but they did not reach the previous level of production. Caring management significantly improved the harvest, and decrees were issued that regulated every stage of cognac production. These decrees control the cognac production process, which has now become a very valuable and popular drink.
