The regulated period of distillation

Beginning for the most important distilleries just after the harvest time, the period must obligatory end on march 31 st. In fact, day and night, distillers live according to the tempo of theirs stills and process called “double chauffe” or “repasse” in french, i.e two separate heatings, in a special “charentais” copper still.

Growers distillers or professional ones

The so named « professional distillers » (in french bouilleurs de profession) are experts in the distillation process. They purchase wines to growers who don’t distill, then distill and sell wine spirit, the famous eau-de-vie. The big ones are usually binded with major « Maisons » like Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin…

The grower-distillers are winegrowers ( in french « bouilleur de cru ») who distill their own wines, and then produce their own cognac or sell part of their eau-de-vie produced, to the »Maisons ».

A very particular moment

The distillation 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. It’s look like a magic process of cognac elaboration, compared to alchimist without esoterism !

It requires skills and years of experience to be a good distiller.

For further information on distillation process

Since the beginning of cognac story, the distillation is still the same with this special double process of heating. The process is clearly detailed in this video from BNIC (coordination and decision-making body for the Cognac industry).

L’article Distilleries and white fumes est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Since the beginning of cognac story, the distillation is still the same with this special double process of heating. The process clearly detailed in this video from BNIC (coordination and decision-making body for the Cognac industry).

L’article Distillation time est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

A really wet wet month

After days and days without any drop and critical level of the aquifers,  storms and  rainy clouds have suddenly crossed our region without any interruption ! From too dry to too wet, we went from an extreme to an other. Vineyards, fields, roads  close to river are under water.

The river Charente has spread over its banks and is not in a hurry to come back in its stream bed…

Here in Jarnac, cognac Courvoisier  is just on front line !

Ready to walk on the river ?

As you know, every clould has a silver lining and in this case the positive point of view  and thought is that the nature and plants, and cognac vineyards needed this water, and even if it happens all at once, it’s a good new for springtime. So we just have to be patient…

A mild winter

Spring is not here yet, altough temperatures are rather mild for the season. Consequetly, my wattle tree in the garden is in bloom with about two weeks early.

In Oleron Island, each mid february, a flower parade takes place with numerous activities, music and concerts, flea market, sale of wattle, and Miss Mimosa (french name of wattle) contest. During this period wattle trees are in blossom and the whole island is yellow colored.

A sunny color on my desk is clearly inspiring positive thoughts.

Distillation is on the air

Since november after the harvest and till end of march, the cognac distilleries work night and day. It’s really a magical moment to be there with the master distiller.

He/she crosses non-stop several weeks  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 step of distillation, trusting on his/her five senses. The crunch time is called  » la coupe » (the cutting).

First, “the heads”appear with  the highest alcohol content. Then comes the precious moment “the heart », a clear spirit : this is the one that will produce cognac. The « second cuts » and the « tails » come lastly.The « heads » and « seconds cuts » are distilled once more with the next batch of wine, called « brouillis. 24 hours are necessary for an entire cycle.

I do love the different names used for the process,  » la bonne chauffe »   » la mise au courant » giving it its part of mystery. The scent in the distillery is quite amazing. We feel good even if we don’t drink ! 

Angoulême International comics strip

Created in 1975, the Angoulême International comics strip festival is the most important event of its kind in the world and the place-to-be for editors, authors, and fans. As usual, from last thursday to end of sunday, it has been a tremendous success and huge moments of emotion, laughs, discovery and passion.

To describe in few words and figures this festival : schtrumpfs and cosplayers in the streets, 23 countries represented, 2000 authors, 6600 editors and professionnals, 900 french and foreign journalists, 400 tons of books and materials.

Some views of the exhibition of Naoki Urasawa, one of the most fascinating contemporary mangaka.

and some other of the President of this past edition, Cosey 

In this grey january, this moment of madness is a authentic gift

And you, what have you done this past month ?

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Hustle and bustle in the courtyard when I arrived fews days ago on the end of the afternoon. It was D-1 before the opening of the first exhibition of the year. Danielle Joubert and Jacques Taris, the artists were finalizing the last details in the art gallery. Gabriel and Yann in work-clothes were just starting the bottling of… 300 special bottles « cuvée spéciale » dedicated to the exhibition.  Nevertheless the two brothers  did not look under stress as you can notice on the video ! Theses guys have a gentle nature.

The art in the vineyards is one of their ideas. They feel comfortable  to share with everybody coming in their wine estate, the nice things of life and for them, wine and art.

« People are sensitive or not sensitive » say the two brothers « and then people who are sensitive in art could be sensitive in wine discover and vice-versa ».

« Art is a subjective matter, exactly like wine tasting » tells me Gabriel the distiller. « It’s not necessary to have studied in art-school to appreciate art, and not obligatory to be  oenologist to appreciate wine » adds  Yann winegrower and plastic art artist known as « Monsieur Frog ».

The label created by the artist has been printed in the small workshop created by Yann in the property.

And what about this wall ?

Seemingly, everyone see the black and white colour. A too simple sight for the imagination of the 2 brothers. Black is just the result of a small fungus that we call here « la part des anges » the share angels. Read the complete explanation on my previous post here. So it’s not the wall that the artist has painted in black, but he realized an outstanding  artistic gesture : erase some parts on  the wall totally black  to let appear the beautiful face of the grandfather !

« Les Frères Moine » in the area of « Fins Bois » near Jarnac, tells us a  nice story started at the beginning of the last century when the  great grandfather came here, as many other persons from Vendée, a small region located north of our cognac area. Passion, courage, tough work, and determination to move forward are some  of the main characteristics of the Moine family. Each generation give to the following some keys to pursue.

This picture, an event in years 1910, shows the founder of the Moine family in cognac region. Prouds to work in vineyards without any smugness, they dressed up smartly in order to honour  the vineyards.

Nowadays,  the name « les Frères Moine » well known here,  come from the previous generation : François, the father, and Jean-Yves, the uncle of Yann and Gabriel. Winegrowers, they also created « le circuit du chêne » a touristic and pedagogic circuit to discover different know-how of the story of cognac : stavemill, cooperage, distillation…. Suffice it to say that this family, in full respect of the know how of cognac, pineau and wine elaboration,  is  game changer at each generation on surrounding subjects.

So art or wine ? Both absolutely answer together Yann and Gabriel. Why choose in fact ?

If you come and see you in Cognac region, may be for summer, don’t forget to meet them.

The Exhibition

Danielle Joubert :L’Eveil

Inspired by nature, she works with what she finds in her strolls ( Feather, stone, iron wire, driftwoods…)  to whom she gives a second life.

Jacques Taris:  Retour Blanc Project Configuration 8.

He explores numerous universes. Teacher in art-school and artist, he is inspired by figures and specially the Fibonacci figures, time, travels. He performs in land art too.

L’article The perfect blend of vineyards and art est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Courageous rose in the garden…

Not a reason for my friends winegrowers, to stop working in vines. Pruning is a winter activity, by any weather, rain, cold, windy… They are tough guys… and girls so. Hat, bonnet, gloves, parkas, wind-jackets, coffee in the cars, are essential.

Our small nice villages of cognac region seem to be asleep. Nobody in the streets of Trois Palis, even no dog or cat…

It was time to come back home near the fireplace. Surprise someone was already at the best place…

Philo, you’re exaggerating a little bit,  isn’it ?

What we do at the end of the week

As we are in low season, it’s for us the best moment to visit the nice exhibitions and natural sites just opened in our region called Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Lascaux IV : an awesome place, in Périgord or when up-to-date technologies  meet first painting  masterpieces.

The original cave of Lascaux,  a UNESCO world heritage site since 1979, is one of the most famous upper-paleolithic art in the world. Discovered in 1940, the cave is closed since many years to protect it. The new replica, called Lascaux 4 just opened  last december, is quite stunning !

900m2 of decorated walls have been produced by a french company called AFSP: a scientific, technological and artistic challenge realized by teams of highly skilled sculptural artists and specialist technicians. in less than 30 months.

Discovering  the replica in the almost complete darkness is as same as  if you were  in the true cave. The precision of the drawings, the colors, even the erosion of the rock are  reproduced in the finest details.

When you leave the replica, you can examine more in detail and at your time, the same drawings in the « atelier de Lascaux » helped by your digital device which give you more informations and more videos.

In fact, you can spend a lot of hours in this magic place. For thoses of you  too far from here, the exhibition Lascaux III travels around the world and is presently  in Japan. More than 200 000 visitors saw it in this country. To know more about click here

The international Cité du Vin , opened in Bordeaux last july, is a unique place devoted to the cultures of wine in  the world, and much  more than a museum. First the  architectural design is very impressive for its shape and audacious curves, as well as its ever-changing reflections depending on the moment of the day, or the sky luminosity.

There is no permanent collection, but a self-guided tour punctuated by 20 themed spaces explaining the culture of wine in an immersive, sensorial setting, helped by our  travelling-companion.

In the world wine tour, here in Mendoza Argentina

Scent and aroma workshop.

The end of the tour leads us up to the belvedere for a tasting of worldwide wines.

The ceiling is just amazing !

I deeeply recommend the 7 th floor restaurant to enjoy a gastronomic break with a nice view on Garonne and bridge « Chaban Delmas », name of a famous former mayor of Bordeaux and national politic personnality.

We appreciated a white wine from Vallée de Cafayate « San Pedro de Yacochuya » from Argentina, a good food pairing with the fish.

We need more than 3 hours as it’s said in the website.

Business week

Meeting in Rochefort. Even if the weather is not fine, I always take few minutes to walk along the « Corderie Royale ». This day was particularly cold with a tough north wind.  Anyway, I wanted to say hello to the l’Hermione Ship. Visits are closed till mid february.

To make a balance with the fresh températures, I decided to go for the blog to « Tonnellerie de Jarnac » and the « bousinage » workshop :  the kingdom of fire and wood and a fascinating moment. More about it here. 

Angoulême International Comics Festival

And last january a famous event takes place in Angoulême, the international comics festival, an extraordinary moment in the city. Exhibitions are also in the streets like « Gaston Lagaffe » in front of the townhall.

Some highligths of the events : conférences, exhibitions, book signing,…

Left down picture : what we see when you are VIP behind the wall of photographs !

And finally, the place to be is the Awards ceremony in theater.

I have choosen this picture as it is not so frequent, a stage with a majority of women !  « Prix de la Révélation » for the Young corean artist Ancco for « mauvaises filles » (bad girls)

A very busy month with awesome discoveries during resting time. Don’t forget that around the clock, distilleries are on till end of march.

L’article Chilling january in vineyards est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Pretty sunny days in december and so stunning sunsets. Just, what I have seen when I was going back to my car… 

In Bordeaux for a business day, I switched over on lunch time to see the awesome exhibition « Montaigne Super Star » in Media center. Very emotional moment to be face to the first edition of the famous « Les Essais » annotated by Montaigne himself.

Even in winter, vineyards offers  graphic lines, playing  with theses of the sky.

Nice meeting with Line, winegrower and distiller on her property of Cognac Guillon-Pinturaud. To know more about her it’s here on the blog

Crossing and blurring musical boundaries is an art form for Piers Faccini. travelling from the English moors to the Saharan dunes via Itialia, Sicilia and mediterranean influences, I was in a magic world during this  deligthful evening offered by « Les Quais Ici ou Ailleurs » in Cognac. Like a fairy tale before Xmas.

Christmas dinner is most important. I have ordered truffles from the area and on 24 th december, I was on site before the market opens in nice village of Villebois Lavalette to be sure to have my order. Just the time to take a coffee and read daily regional papers, and….

…. I got them. I have prepared a glass jar to carry them safely.

A quick stop on the way back to the Mercerie Castle, foolish dream of two brothers, who wanted to build a replica of Versailles Castle close to their old family castle. Nowadays, an association works to the restoration of the castle.

And for the last days, we were in Pays Basque, in Biarritz : running along the beach on morning…

…and discovering the awesome lightshow on the walls of the Church, in the gardens, and on the walls.

It was really magic. See be yourselves.

L’article December between culture and viticulture est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Looking back to the previous year, I see hard work and great satisfactions.

Deeply involved in communication and public relations since many time, living in cognac region and working in great south-west France, I thought that if cognac, famous name for a famous product, was worldwide known and appreciated, its slow elaboration, the high skill of the people involved in this success, the landscape, the heritage, and the way of life, rather remained in the shadow. 

Since a long time, I had the idea to tell these little stories day after day, season after season, in the vineyards, distillleries, cooperage… as such as the cultural life of the region, the importance of the river Charente, on which the first cognac barrels were loaded in the past centuries to, then, cross  the oceans, as the Hermione ship on board of which La Fayette came in the US.

At the beginning of 2016, I felt I was ready to start, to create a blog, and I easily found its name  : living in cognac which is the reality. Would this blog  be relevant ? I just could not go wrong, or be boring. Could I find enough time ?  Many other questions appear day after day… Finally, I decided that I should go ahead.  First a Facebook pro page, and Instagram, launched last end of may allowed me to draw a clearer outline for the blog. I worked on july and august off line. On line on september 2nd, Living in Cognac was  ready  for the crunch time of harvest, it could not feel more right.

Few months after, I could say that I enjoy much more than I could expect in my mind. I am sincerely grateful to everyone reading, following, sharing… and particularly those of you who add comments or ask questions. In Norway, UK, Australia, USA, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Nederland, Sweden, India, Canada, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Chile, China.. and in France so. Thanks, really thanks, I am so grateful for your interest and your so nice comments.

Of course, many thanks to the winegrowers and distillers  who took time for photos and discussions, the owners of Logis de Puygaty, and many other people, happy to share their passion.

I wish you all my best for this new year.

And soon, an other post on the cooperage. Stay tuned.

L’article Telling the story of cognac region est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

Since the beginning of cognac story, the distillation is still the same with this special double process of heating.

At the time of distillation, wines must have an alcoholic degree between 7% and 12%. First, the white wine is poured in the boiler and brought to its boiling point. Alcohol vapors are freed and collected in the still-head, then they cross the swan-neck to arrive  into the coil. Upon contact with the coolant, they condense, to become the  “brouillis”(between 28 and 32 % of alcohol content).

Thanks to Line Sauvant from Cognac Guillon Pinturaud who opened the door of her distillery for us. Next post on her, and the family dynasty.

The brouillis starts to flow, we call it « la mise au courant ». About 12 hours are necessary for the first distillation. Then the « brouillis » goes back again to the boiler for the second distillation known as the « bonne chauffe ». About 8/10 hours later  the most delicate moment happens : the cutting « la coupe », needs all the attention and skill of the distiller. After the « heads » (1 or 2 % of the volume) comes the « heart », as its name suggests, this so bright and clear color liquid will be future cognac. The cutting takes place just at the crush moment when « seconds cuts » are going to appear.  Again 12 hours are necessary for the second distillation.

Depending from methods, the heads, seconds cuts and tails may be  redistilled with next distillation of wine or brouillis, totally or just some parts. A secret of fabrication for each distiller… The heart is directly poured in oak barrel, an other story begins, the ageing process.

Lost along the way ? Don’t worry, this small video will explain you all the process, thanks to BNIC

The process is quite stunning, but what about the tools, theses  stills, some of them century old,  still-head with different shapes,onion, turban, olive,  prolonged by a swan-neck, shiny coppers, red bricks, dark carpentries, a magic atmosphere…

Even the modern ones, computer controlled,  have been produced with the same attention to the details.

But nevertheless,  no computer can replace the skill, the eye and the smell of the distiller particularly in very important moments. It will be our next post on the blog.

L’article Here’s the time of distillation est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.

He came in 2014 to visit Cognac region on the advice of the friend of him, and met Jean Luc Montembaud, cognac lover from Cognac Tasting Tour who opened  secret places for him.  He felt in love with the region, the people, the old distilleries and black cellars. If he discovered our god blessed region, he’s not a newcomer at all in photography. Since 16 years, after a first live as press photographer, he’s a renowned specialist of food and beverage shots. Each year since the beginning of the famous contest « Global Food Photographer of the Year », one of his photos is selected as a finalist.

I do love this exhibition even if I regret that the framed prints are not in the same room. In my opinion, this subtile work lose in intensity.

I do love the black -and -white choice which gives  an idea of the silent of the men and cellars. These stunning shots, which have certainly needed many hours to catch the right moment, seem to display a raw expression without any affect. And at the same time Mark Unsworth makes visible the invisible.

Cellars and distilleries are particular places, owning a great part of mystery. He has perfectly succeeded in revealing the soul of them, as these of the people in front of him.

For cognac, ageing is a core value, the exhibition celebrates its in an artistic manner.

In short come soon to Musée des Arts du Cognac  or discover on Islay Studio

L’article In the privacy of cognac distilleries est apparu en premier sur Living In Cognac Land.