1955 The U K B G Guide to Drinks (2nd edition revised)

U. K. B. G. GUIDE TO DRINKS

of Cognac is the name of Hennessy. Richard Hennessy settled there some fifty years later, coming from Cork, where he was an officer in the Brigade Irlandaise and also in the service of the French king at that time. However, before this time the wine of the area for a period of two centuries was purchased by the Enghsh, Dutch and Scandinavian merchants who at that time sailed up the River Charente in order to obtain it. It was early in the 17th century that a local man conceived the idea of distilhng the local wine to produce the Cognac which we now acknowledge to be the finest in the world. Manufacture The Cognac area is divided into seven districts, which lie in the Departments (corresponding to our Counties) of Charente and Charente Inferieure on the West Coast of France. The commercial centres are at Cognac and Jarnac, both on the River Charente, some 50 miles north of Bordeaux. It is here that all the large Brandy establish ments have their distilleries and offices. The seven areas are known as:

1. Grande Champagne. 5. Bons Bois. 2. Petite Champagne. 6. Bois Ordinaire. 3. Borderies. 7. Bois a Terroir. 4. Fins Bois.

The"Champagne"in this sense has nothing whatever in common with the Sparkling Wine of the Champagne area. It simply means Field Country from the French word "Fields"(Champs). The order in which the areas are numbered above is the order of precedence, number one being the best producing area on account of its soil and aspect. This land is the most sought after and every inch of it is given over to the cultivation of the grape. The farmers in this area are reputed to have said that they would not sell their lands for a million pounds an acre. Not so the other areas, where 230