Many people often can't even tell the wine in their hands
Shouting "XO" in my mouth is my destiny, in fact, I don't even know much about XO.
Today I will talk to you about the relationship between sparkling wine and champagne, and the relationship between brandy and cognac and XO.
Let's start with champagne and sparkling wine, people are often confused, so to speak, champagne = sparkling wine, but sparkling wine ≠ champagne!
Isn't it a bit confusing to look at it this way? Don't be in a hurry to listen to me slowly.
"Not all sparkling wine can be called champagne!"
Let's talk about what sparkling wine is, in fact, it is based on wine reprocessing.
The static bubble-free wine brewed in advance is bottled, and then sugar juice and yeast are added to carry out a small-scale fermentation in the bottle, the purpose of this fermentation is to make the wine bubble and make a sparkling wine. Like wine, it comes in both red and white colors.
Champagne, on the other hand, is actually a type of sparkling wine, which is made only from Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay grapes that grew up in the Champagne region.
Most importantly, Champagne must be brewed using the Traditional Method, which is fermented in the bottle twice. Because Champagne is a model of traditional brewing methods, this method is also called the Champagne Method, which is the most detailed of all brewing methods.
So, the point: not all sparkling wines are called champagne!
The Champagne-producing Champagne region, located in the northeast of Paris, France, is the northernmost wine region in France. According to the law, only sparkling wines made by traditional methods in the Champagne region of France can be labeled as Champagne if they use a specified grape variety.
So, champagne is also synonymous with pure blood.
Take a chestnut: In the Champagne region of France, there is a Champagne brand that has opened an identical distillery in Ningxia, China.
Although the same winemaking techniques and methods are used, when it is sold to the outside world, it cannot be named "Champagne", but can only be called sparkling wine. Why, because it wasn't produced in Champagne, France!
This is also what we call the appellation problem today!
"Cognac, the parisian water known all over the world"
Like Champagne, Cognac is actually a region. To protect Cognac's reputation and its franchise, cognac must be distilled from locally produced grapes.
But Cognac is divided into 6 areas: Grand Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and large plantations in Bois Ordinaires. These 6 areas are covered with the purported best chalky soil. In fact, only the brandy produced in the first four districts can be called cognac.
"Cognac = brandy but brandy ≠ cognac"
So the point is, to know what cognac is, you first need to understand what brandy is!
Brandy is actually a distilled wine made from grapes and other fruits as raw materials, fermented first and then distilled.
If subdivided, brandy can be divided into 3 categories: grape brandy, fruit brandy, and pomace brandy.
Grape brandy: Brandy distilled from grapes as the base wine.
Fruit brandy: Fermented with the juice of other fruits, such as cabados wine is fermented with apple juice.
Pomace brandy: Fermented grape skins, grape seeds, and grape stems discarded during the wine making process.
Cognac, on the other hand, is a type of grape brandy.
Simply put, if brandy is a garden, then cognac is the most ostentatious flower in it.
Because the cognac region is planted with white grape varieties dominated by white jade, which have high acidity and low alcohol content, they are the best choice for cognac raw materials. By the 18th century, cognac had become famous in England and Ireland and became one of the most sought after by the nobility.
Today, 90% of cognacs are exported and sold abroad, and everyone who likes to drink brandy does not have a few bottles of XO bracing in the wine cabinet! This is one of the reasons why Cognac is so famous all over the world.
Cognac's status in France is similar to the existence of Maotai on the mainland. It is conceivable that its status in the eyes of the French really weighs!
"Why do XOs sell so expensive?"
"So what is the relationship between XO and cognac?" Why does the wine with the XO written on the back sell so expensive? ”
Regarding XO, let's take a closer look:
There is an agency in France called the "Cognac Industry Authority", which is responsible for supervising all aspects of cognac from grape growing, distillation, storage, transportation, and sales. The appellation has clear regulations on cognac yields, allowable grape varieties, and fermentation processes. Even where the cognac stills are purchased, the safe use period must be registered for the record.
When we go to buy cognac, we will find that the name of the wine is followed by several English letters, such as Hennessy XO, Hennessy VSOP...
The letters behind this actually represent the age grade of cognac. The grade of Cognac can be divided into VS(Very Special)\VSOP(Very Superior Old Pale)\Napoleon\XO(Extra Old). XO is the highest legal grade standard in the cognac industry.
Cognac has strict standards for grades, but curiously, the requirements for brandy are: no requirements! Yes, there is no official rule on how long a brandy XO must be aged. What kind of wine can be marked with XO depends on the company's own standards!
So don't see the "XO" and subconsciously think it is very expensive, in addition to the cognac XO, ordinary brandy XO, the price is not easy to say!