Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect of ageing, and some are produced using a combination of ageing and colouring. Varieties of wine brandy can be found across the winemaking world. Among the most renowned are Cognac and Armagnac from south-western France.
Cognac is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.
Gers is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Gers becoming the largest producer of foie gras in France, known for its rural scene and bastides. Gers is bordered by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques to the south, Haute-Garonne and Tarn-et-Garonne to the east, Lot-et-Garonne to the north and Landes to the west. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the Gersois and Gersoises in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.
The County of Armagnac, situated between the Adour and Garonne rivers in the lower foothills of the Pyrenées, was a historic county of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine. In 960, the title of 'Count of Armagnac' was established, and thus the County of Armagnac was created. In 1751, following the death of childless Charles de Lorraine, Comte d'Armagnac, the county was absorbed into the Crown lands of France and the King, then Louis XV took the title of 'Count of Armagnac'. In 1791, following the decree dividing France into departments, the county was disestablished, but remains an important natural region of France.
Apéritifs and digestifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before (apéritif) or after (digestif) a meal respectively.
Baco blanc or Baco 22A is a French-American hybrid grape variety. It is a cross of Folle blanche and the Noah grape, created in 1898 by the grape breeder François Baco. Folle blanche is its Vitis vinifera parent. Noah, its other parent, is itself a cross of Vitis labrusca and Vitis riparia.
Raj Peter Bhakta is an American entrepreneur, spirits industry executive, real estate investor and former media and political personality. In 2004, Bhakta was a contestant on the second season of the reality show The Apprentice. He is also the founder of WhistlePig whiskey, a premium whiskey company. In 2006, he campaigned for a seat in the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 13th district as a Republican, but lost to incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz.
Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it has many other names reflecting a family of local subtypes, particularly in Italy and France. Its high acidity makes it important in Cognac and Armagnac productions.
Armagnac is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally using column stills rather than the pot stills used in the production of cognac, which is made predominantly from ugni blanc grapes. The resulting spirit is then aged in oak barrels before release. Production is overseen by the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) and the Bureau National Interprofessionel de l'Armagnac (BNIA).
The Armagnac faction was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed on a Paris street on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy on 23 November 1407.
Lourinhã is a municipality in the District of Lisbon, in the Oeste Subregion of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 25,735, in an area of 147.17 km². The seat of the municipality is the town of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inhabitants.
The Domaine de Bordeneuve is a French company, producing premium Armagnac brandy. The entire range of natural, craft Armagnacs is commercialised by Bordeneuve Châteaux & Collections
Albé is a commune in the Bas Rhin département in Alsace in north-eastern France.
Lannepax is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy.
Nogaro is a commune in the Gers department, Southwestern France. It is the site of a distillery of Armagnac brandy.
Le Frêche is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
The Floc de Gascogne is a regional apéritif from the Côtes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. It is a vin de liqueur fortified with armagnac, the local brandy. It has had Appellation d'origine contrôlée status since 1990. Elsewhere in France analogous drinks are made.
The Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War was a conflict between two cadet branches of the French royal family – the House of Orléans and the House of Burgundy from 1407 to 1435. It began during a lull in the Hundred Years' War against the English and overlapped with the Western Schism of the papacy.
The House of Armagnac is a French noble house established in 961 by Bernard I, Count of Armagnac. It achieved its greatest importance in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
