Distil a barrel of finished wine instead of drinking it, and you get brandy: still built from grapes, just from the juice rather than the skins left over after pressing.
How it is made
Grapes are fermented into a base wine, usually a light, acidic one that would not be much fun to drink on its own, then distilled once or twice, most often in copper pot stills. The clear spirit that comes off the still then spends years in oak, which is where colour, vanilla and spice come from. Labels borrowed from the trade, VS, VSOP and XO, set minimum ages for the youngest component in the blend: two years, four years and ten years respectively.
Cognac, Armagnac, and everything else
Cognac, double-distilled in the Charente, and Armagnac, traditionally run once through a column still for an earthier, more rustic result, are the two protected French names most people know. Plenty of well-made brandy is produced outside those zones, fermented, distilled and aged the same way, just without the appellation, and it sells for a fraction of the price. For the pomace-based Italian equivalent rather than a wine-based spirit, see grappa; for other aged spirits built the same way, browse our whisky range.
FAQ
Is all brandy from Cognac?
No. Cognac and Armagnac are protected regions in France; brandy is the wider category, made wherever wine is distilled and aged.
What does VSOP mean?
It sets the minimum age of the youngest spirit in the blend, four years for VSOP and ten for XO.
How is brandy different from grappa?
Brandy distils finished wine; grappa distils the leftover skins and pips. Different raw material, different aromatics.