A Cognac, or a brandy as it is commonly referred to in the United States, is a distilled alcoholic beverage that can be made from grape alcohol or distilled from wood. It has been continuously produced and sold since Roman times. More than 50 million kilos of cognac are produced annually with France being the leader in production and you can shop cognac online in simple steps.

The quality of the cognac depends on the kinds of grapes used and how they are fermented, distillation process and aging. There are five main types of grapes used for making cognac: white muscadelle, pale wine, red muscadelle, clairette and petit garrigue. Many other grape varieties also are used.

The first step in producing a cognac is to harvest the grapes from vineyards. After harvest, the grapes are dried in hot-air towers to remove any rot and allowed to warm up for a few days. Then the grapes are sorted for size, color and density. Grapes that are too small or too thick are rejected. The grapes are then pressed by machines which extract the juice from them. Some of the juice is fermented into wine while most of it is used in making cognac.

It must be noted that some of the juice used in making cognac is fermented into wine which is later distilled. The fermented juice is then put into barrels for an aging process that lasts for at least two years. The barrels are placed in cellars where the temperature and humidity are controlled to prevent oxidation. The amount of alcohol added after aging is also controlled.