Cognac dates back over 2,000 years ago, and was probably named after a pre-Roman chieftain called Comnos or Conos. At that time it was the Romans first brought vines to France. Romans also discovered the secret of sealing wines in amphorae to mature and preserve them. By the time they left 500 years later they had laid the foundation for almost all the greatest vineyards in the modern world.
For centuries later France continued to produce wine, considered a gift from gods. As trading expanded, the delicate wines couldn’t cope with rough and long journeys by the sea.
In order to transport the wine in better conditions, traders began to distill wine. Arnaud de Villeneuve (Catalonia, Spain) is reported to have distilled wine as early as 1250. It may also have been produced as early as 1100 in Dalerno. The Dutch called this new spirit brandewijnm, literally burnt wine. And that’s where the term brandy comes from.
Some commercial distilled –wine beverages apparently began to be produced in Armagnac in the mid-1400s. Cognac region’s brandewijn was distinct from that produced by other regions and so came to be called by its new name - Cognac.
Brandy production in Cognac started in the early 1600s. The brandies produced in Cognac have a long-standing and universal reputation for their elegance and refinement and are often symbols of status and prestige.
2000 years of Cognac
