Which grapes go into cognac?

The cahier des charges of the AOC Cognac, homologated by the arrêté of 21 March 2024, names five varieties plus folignan: colombard, folle blanche, montils, sémillon and ugni blanc.

Folignan may make up at most 10 percent of the plantings. Three varieties that are being tested for their adaptability, coutia, luminan and Vidal, may together or separately fill at most 5 percent of a business's plantings. If anything else stands in the vineyard, the eau-de-vie may not carry the name cognac.

Ugni blanc yields a lean, acidic base wine of 8 to 9 percent alcohol, and that is exactly what a still for cognac needs.

The BNIC reports that ugni blanc is planted in more than 98 percent of the vineyards in the area. The variety originally comes from Tuscany and was planted for its relative resistance to, among other things, grey rot. It ripens later than montils and folignan, and plenty of acidity with little sugar keeps the base wine fresh until distillation. That same acidity carries an eau-de-vie that spends years in wood.

Folle blanche was one of the main victims of phylloxera and now makes up less than 1 percent of plantings.

The BNIC writes that the phylloxera louse destroyed most of the vineyards at the end of the nineteenth century, after which all varieties were grafted onto rootstocks. Folle blanche became more susceptible to disease after that grafting and lost its place to ugni blanc. The variety is still in the cahier des charges, so a cognac from folle blanche is permitted.

The colour does not come from the grape, because the permitted varieties are white and give a clear wine.

According to the cahier des charges, cognac matures exclusively in oak casks, and for at least two years before it may be sold to the consumer as a drink. In those years the clear distillate takes on color and tannin from the wood. The cahier des charges also allows the color to be adjusted with caramel E150a, with the obscuration remaining at a maximum of 4 percent.

The variety mainly determines the acidity and the aromatic start of the base wine, and with it how the eau-de-vie develops on wood.

The BNIC describes colombard as a variety with a lot of acidity and little sugar that is valued for its aromatic possibilities and usually goes into a blend. Montils has less acidity than ugni blanc and ripens earlier. Folignan is a cross of ugni blanc and folle blanche from the BNIC's viticulture department, added to the appellation decree in 2005, with floral aromas such as rose and lilac. In the cognac section at the Brink in Bathmen there are 138 French bottles from 32 brands, so you can lay the varieties side by side.

Armagnac may be made from ten grape varieties, and the biggest difference from cognac lies in baco blanc and mauzac rosé.

The cahier des charges of the AOC Armagnac, homologated by the arrêté of 27 March 2025, names baco blanc, blanc dame, colombard, folle blanche, graisse, jurançon, mauzac, mauzac rosé, meslier saint-françois and ugni blanc. Colombard, folle blanche and ugni blanc occur in both areas. Baco blanc and mauzac rosé are not permitted in cognac, and montils, sémillon and folignan not in armagnac.