BRANDY

Originally, many different brandies were grouped together under the name Cognac. However, this changed with the introduction of protection for the designation of origin of cognac for a certain defined region in France. In order to differentiate between other brandies, different guidelines for different categories have been developed. A brandy is a spirit whose alcohol comes exclusively from finished vinified wine. Distillates from grape must or pomace have other names such as grappa or pisco from Peru. A condition for a brandy is also the prescribed barrel storage of at least six months in barrels with less than 1000l capacity. If the barrels used are larger than 1000l, the brandy must mature for at least 12 months. These specifications for the maturing time are often exceeded many times over. Flavoring additives may not be used in the manufacture of brandy. The only exception to this is sugar and caramel colour, which can be added up to 3%. Brandy is made anywhere in the world where wine is produced. The most important producers include Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Greece and Germany.