Far away from the hustle and bustle of our working lives, cognac needs to take its time, all its time. A generation of winegrowers works for the upcoming one. Suffice it to say that it’s light-years of our connected daily life, and thus, should be more emphasized, a subject of never-ending story.
He/she wakes up early morning, generally between 4 and 6, each day, during the distillation time. As for a single-handed round world race, he/she crosses non-stop several weeks or months depending from the quantity of vine to be distilled. Even if modern facilities such as computer controlled devices, and gaz heating allow to sleep at home and no more in the distillery, the distiller takes great care of each distillation, trusting on his/her five senses.
Day and night, till march 31st, the winegrowers who are also distillers, live according to the tempo of theirs stills and the process called “double chauffe” or “repasse” in french i.e, two separate heatings, in a special “charentais” copper still. The distillation is a particular moment which appeals to emotional senses of sight and smell : a sweety temperature near the stills, the slow flow of the eau-de-vie, and the subtle scents diffusing in the air.
October month is very busy in cognacvineyards. Harvest time is on. Depending of the previous seasons, harvest begins early october or mid october, but always in this month. We felt really good as living a never-ended summer, and the morning mist gave the landscape a fairytale atmosphere… Continue reading October means harvest month in cognac
After a year of hard work, hoping that the weather conditions would be nice enough till the cognac harvest time, the single most important decision of the winegrower is to choose the right day to begin harvest. It looks like a very subtle balance betweeen professionnal skills and intuition, and requires a fair amount of experience. Needless to say that it’s a nerve-wracking period, especially when the weather has played unkind tricks like this year in cognac vineyards.
In september, stress and excitation slowly rise up in cognac region, harvest is soon coming. Ripeness checks and grapes tasting as such as weather forecasts are obviously determinant to decide of the due day, but it’s at once a decision based on feeling, and experience. Continue reading Preparing the harvest in cognac vineyards
At first glance, visitors are often surprised by the black walls and roofs in cognac landscape. Far from being a sign of dirt or neglect, this colour means wealth : cognac sleeps inside. Nearby vineyards, and well protected, some green oaks, hazelnuts or linden trees, grow in the utmost secrecy. On winter time, men and dogs roam theses places to harvest a precious black mushroom : the truffle. Both sides, it’s telling time, patience and skill. Continue reading Black colour means wealthy in cognac
Really, an amazing place. Blue of sky has always inspirated painters and photographs : never the same, from dawn to sunset, and so bright. Many shades of green are present everywhere, from that of the vineyards to that of the woods. In fall season, when a morning mist appear, the landscape becomes magic. And what about the sunset on the walls of the houses, build with the white limestome of Charente. The amber color of the cognac after his ageing period answers to the fall colors of nature. Live here allows to see, day after day, an unbelievable symphony of colours. Continue reading The chance to live in cognac region