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BRANDY
Another name closely associated with the early history
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 English,
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 distilling the loc^ 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 Countryfrom 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 seU their lands
for a million pounds an acre. Not so the other areas, where
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