Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I: THE MAKING OF COGNAC
1. Land, vine, wine
2. Distillation: the heart of the matter
3. Brandy + age + oak = cognac
4. The personality of cognac
Part II: THE STORY OF COGNAC
5. From salt to wine to Cognac brandy
6. Revolutions on the road to days of glory
7. Disaster, recovery, occupation
8. Thirty golden years
9. Not just a drama, a crisis
10. Fight-back
Part III: ALL ABOUT THE COGNACS
11. The enjoyment of cognac
12. The producers and their brandies
Glossary
Appendix I: THE LAW
Cognac and the law
Distillation
Ageing
Allied products
Le Bureau National Interprofessionel du Cognac (BNIC)
Recent restrictions
Appendix II: THE FIGURES
Size
Production
Sales
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Nicholas Faith is renowned for the books and hundreds of articles he has written on wines and spirits over the past 30 years. His first book, The Winemasters, won the André Simon award. He also edited the prestigious magazine L’Amateur de Bordeaux. Founder of the International Spirits Challenge, the world’s leading alcoholic spirits competition, Nicholas Faith became in September 2010 the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Bureau National Interprofessional de Cognac.

Reviews

"A well-written, informative page-turner that’s definitely worth the investment."
*Jancis Robinson*

"This book is the most up to date literature that can be found about cognac; the drink and the region, and certainly makes for a ‘must read’ for anyone who pays homage to the wonder that is eaux-de-vie."
*CognacExpert.com*

"If you’re looking to understand the world of Cognac this is one book worth investing in."
*diffordsguide.com*

"A thorough and engaging resource – the essential companion for every cognac enthusiast … not a mere guide, it is the standard to which we should all aspire."
*Brandy Classics*

"Faith has a way of writing that is functional yet aesthetic - it reminds me somehow of Leonardo da Vinci's design and invention sketches and it's difficult to read his work without being drawn in. I started this book a little indifferent to Cognac. By the time I was half way through, I was hooked."
*jancisrobinson.com*