But other districts have their special qualities as well. Cognac made in Fins Bois, for example, has a woodiness and nuances of fall leaves. Similarly, the clay and flint soil in Borderies produces very distinctive Cognac. Cognac production begins with fermented white wine. This wine, which is about 8 percent alcohol, goes into an alembic, a copper pot still that resembles a large, amber onion.
French law requires that stills be kept at small capacity to ensure slow and accurate distillation.
The stills work continuously from November until all distillation must stop on March 31. Very little of the Cognac that winds up in bottles is actually made by the Cognac houses. Ten thousand independent farmers grow grapes and make wine. Forty percent of them do their own distilling. The rest sell their wine to distillers.