XO means "special aging" in brandy
French brandy (BRANDY) is a kind of spirit, which is distilled after fermentation of wine or fruit, but it must Aged in wooden barrels for a considerable period of time. Brandy is produced in all countries in the world, and the wine produced in France is the best, so French brandy is also the best, among which Cognac Brandy (COGNAC BRANDY) is particularly world-famous.
All cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. Cognac is distilled from wine produced in Charente, France, and is restricted and protected by law. Brandy distilled from wine produced elsewhere cannot legally be called Cognac.
Brandy (BRANDY) is a kind of drinkable wine, which is distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice. It needs to be aged in wooden barrels before it tastes good. For example: Cognac (COGNAC), Armagnac (ARMAGNAC), Spanish brandy, American brandy. KIRSCH may be written as KIRSCHWASSER (cherry brandy), CALVADOS or APPLE JACK (apple brandy), SLIVOVITZ (plum brandy), and other fruit brandies.
COGNAC The ancient city of Cognac on the CHARENTE River in France is the center for the production of Cognac and fine wine. This kind of brandy has become world-famous, so almost everyone in the world knows the French word COGNAC. Not even China or Africa are exempt.
The Cognac region is divided into six subdistricts, and the quality of the wine produced also varies. From high to low, the order is as follows:
1. GRANDE CHAMPAGNE
< p> 2.PETITE CHAMPAGNE Petite Champagne area3.BORDERIES edge area
4.FINS BOIS forestation area
5.BONS BOIS superior forestation area
p>6.BOIS ORDINAIRES General Forestry Area
All brandy distilleries use letters to distinguish quality, for example: E stands for ESPECIAL (special)
F Stands for FINE (good)
V stands for VERY (very good)
O stands for OLD (old)
S stands for SUPERIOR (superior)
p>
P stands for PALE (light and old)
The special distillation techniques are also due to the good soil and good weather in the area, so the grapes produced are particularly good.
3-STAR three-star cognac: the storage period is not less than two years
V.S.O.P cognac: the storage period is not less than four years
p>NAPOLEON Cognac: the storage period is not less than six years
X.O. Cognac: the storage period is more than eight years
XO is the brandy grading method. A level that is stored for a longer period of time. However, in French brandy, in addition to the matters stipulated by the French government, in order to highlight the advantages of their own wines, each manufacturer often makes stricter conditions than the regulations, so that each brandy has its own characteristics. And HENNESSY is also one of them.
Most of this wine is produced in the Cognac region, so we also call it Cognac. Um! Please read the following explanation. It is a textbook that I give to my colleagues. It should be a relatively complete introduction. I hope it can answer your questions.
1. What is brandy?
The English word brandy is changed from the Dutch word Brande. The so-called brandy refers to a kind of spirit made by distilling wine. Generally speaking, brandy is a spirit made by distilling wine. The wine made from fruits as raw materials through fermentation and distillation processes can be called brandy. France is the first country in the world to produce brandy, followed by Italy, Spain, the United States and Greece.
Brandy can be divided into two aspects. 1. It can be called distilled liquor made from any fruit. 2. Simply refers to "grape brandy" that is made from grapes and then distilled and stored in oak barrels.
But the origin of brandy was not just for enjoying this distilled wine. Because in the early days, transportation and transportation were inconvenient, so wine with lower alcohol content was often affected by wine spoilage. At that time, Dutch traders required that wine be distilled before it could be easily transported. Moreover, coupled with changes in French wine taxes, exported wines were taxed based on weight rather than alcohol content, which further encouraged the trend of distillation. (Port wine is for a similar reason.
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Due to the trading ability of Dutch merchants, this wine was sold well in the Nordic and British markets. The British abbreviated the Dutch word (Brandewijn brandy wine) as BRANDY, so that the market later used BRANDY as the name. Liquor-like name.
2. How to make brandy
As mentioned before, BRANDY is distilled from wine, so we cannot omit this raw material - grapes. The main grape varieties for brandy today are Ugni-Blanc and Colombard. The characteristics of this grape are low sugar content, strong sourness, late maturity, and strong disease resistance. Moreover, due to the cooler climate in the Cognac region, the sugar content of grapes only rises to about 18 or 19 percent.
Its high acidity and low sugar content produce the following two results. 1. Because of the low sugar content, in order to increase the alcohol content of the finished wine, a larger amount of grapes will inevitably be needed. This is one of them. 2. Because more grapes are used than usual and the acidity is high, the sourness of the original wine is extremely strong. Moreover, the sourness is one of the sources of complexity in wine, so the brandy produced with this raw material is quite So delicious.
The above are the raw materials, and the following is an introduction to the production process. In addition to harvesting, pressing, and fermenting grapes to make wine, brandy also needs to go through the following procedures, such as distillation, storage, and blending. The fermented grape wine needs to be distilled as soon as possible. According to French law, Cognac (COGNAC) needs to be distilled before the end of March the following year after the grape harvest; Armagnac Brandy (ARMAGNAC) needs to be distilled before the end of April the following year after the grape harvest.
Distillation can be divided into three methods, single distillation method, semi-continuous distillation method and continuous distillation method:
A. Single distillation method
The single distillation method is usually used for brandy in the Cognac region of France. The wine is characterized by a grape juice aroma, strong wine quality, and harmonious taste. It needs to be distilled twice. Alcohol content is about 70%.
B. Semi-continuous distillation method
It is distilled only once to obtain the original wine of about 55°~60°. It is often used in the Armagnac region of France. Its characteristics are other than the above. In addition, unlike the original wine produced by the single double distillation method, it is known for its strong and special personality.
C. Continuous distillation method
The distillation method is similar to the distillation method of petroleum, and some resemble the structure of a distillation tower. The brandy distilled in this way has a very smooth and refreshing taste, and has the aroma of juice.
The distilled brandy must also undergo storage procedures. Because the raw wine that has just been distilled is colorless and transparent, the taste and aroma are not very mellow, so it must be matured in oak barrels.
Like red wine, wooden barrels are old and new, and require the same storage conditions. The only difference is that red wine will not have a color difference due to wooden barrels, but brandy very much needs to be colored. Conditions (the same applies to WHISKEY).
The distilled brandy has a primitive and rough aroma, so it must be aged. As for storage containers, wooden barrels with a capacity of about 300 to 600 liters are generally used. Most of the Cognac region uses barrels made of oak produced in the famous forest of Linmao Mountain and Tolonchet Forest in central France. The Yagna region uses oak barrels produced in Casgen to store the original wine. (Wooden barrels are not only storage containers, but their materials have a great impact on the quality of brandy. In particular, the type of fiber contained in oak is a direct factor that determines the color and aroma of the wine after aging.
In wood After the barrel is cleaned, the colorless and transparent original brandy is put into it and placed in a low-temperature storage warehouse with small temperature changes. After long-term storage, the roughness of the original brandy disappears due to the interaction with the tannins in the barrel. , gradually showing a fragrant and mellow flavor, and the color will also change from colorless to amber.
Due to differences in grape varieties, distillation, and aging, the original brandy wine stored in wooden barrels will change. The quality of each barrel of wine is different. Brandy from all over the world is made from dozens of raw wines that have been matured for different long and short times (the same as Blend Whiskey), because the taste of each barrel of brandy is different. Similarly, how to make the wine produced every year have a similar feeling requires the skill of blending. In order to maintain a certain concentration of alcohol content, deionized water is added and then heated at minus five to ten degrees Celsius. Filter; if necessary, use caramel to adjust the color of the wine, and then bottle it for sale.
Labeling of brandy
Brandy is labeled according to its origin in the world. Generally, the brandy type, brand, alcohol content, winery, wine capacity, etc. must be clearly marked.
For brandy produced in France, the storage age of the original wine (ie. Aging years) to set standards. For example, when the labels of Cognac and Armagnac have labels such as "VSOP", "Napoleon", and "XO", even the least aged wine must pass the specified aging period.
The way to calculate the aging time is as follows: the aging period of Cognac starts from April 1st of the following year when the grapes are harvested, while the aging period of Armagnac starts from the day of the grape harvest. It starts counting on May 1st of the following year. The one-year maturation index is 0; the index is then converted to one and so on. For example, the original wine with "index five" needs to be matured for sixty to seventy-two months starting from April 1st of the year following the grape harvest before it can be made into cognac.