This is about our “workhorse” brandy grape, with a lot of info about aging…
Posted in: Brandy, Tech NotesBrandy from French Colombard grapes
Cognac Potstill: the swan’s neck
Why we use copper stills
Cognac Potstill: the chapiteau
Making the Seconds cut/brandy run
The “Seconds” are cut when we have distilled the best part, the heart, of a brandy distillation run.
Posted in: Brandy, Tech NotesMeasuring Brix
Joe Corley using a hand refractometer to measure the Brix, the sugar content of grapes. Getting the grapes at the right ripeness is a huge quality factor.
Posted in: Tech Notes
Using faibles
Making the heads cut/brandy run
Taking heads means separating the first portion of a distillation run to exclude toxic forms of alcohol. Doing it by hand is old-fashioned but it means you can always get it just right.
Posted in: Brandy, Tech Notes
Grading new oak barrels
Crispin Cain talking about how he grades new oak barrels when they are delivered
Posted in: Brandy, Tech NotesAssembling Germain-Robin XO
The XO is +/- 17 years old when we bottle. We start blending it five years earlier.
Posted in: Brandy, Tech Notes