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BRANDY
part of the soil is given over to the production of other farm
produce.
The vines favoured for the production of Brandy are the
Folle Blanche, Saint Emilion and the Colombard, all white
grapes.
The wine that is produced from these grapes is not
particularly good for drinking, e.xcept perhaps locally.
It is fruity, slightly acid, and rather harsh, if anything, and
not altogether pleasant to drink until one acquires taste for
it, but it does make the best Brandy.
The production of the wine is the same as for most
other areas, except that the stalks and pips are not crushed
in the operation of extracting the juice.
The wine is kept in the bams of the vineyards and cared
for up to a period of five years after which it is distilled.
The method of distilling is the pot still method, the
same as was originally used in the first instance for the
production of Brandy, the fires being of wood or charcoal.
It is interesting to note that in the production of spirits
in England, the customs have a lock upon every accessible
part of the machinery used in distilling. Not so with the
French Excise authorities, they merely lock the fire door
when distilling is not in progress, thus they are always
aware when production is to start.
There are three types of distillers :
1. The small farmers who distil their own wines and for
this it is not necessary for them to be licensed.
2. The other farmers who store their wines in a special
stores and become professionals and thus hcensed.
They distil for a firm who are financed by the big
distillers.
3. The large distillers themselves who buy from the
farmers in all districts and distil themselves at their
large distilleries.
Cognac is double distilled. The first distillation is to
produce what is termed a"Brouillis", which is in volume
about,a third of the original bulk of the wine distilled.
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