Cognac-Expert.com: A short history

Our website is a close knit project, run by a family that's been living in the Charente region for over 50 years.

Coming from an agricultural background, our grandfather having farmed and owned a vineyard, we've always been dedicated to the Cognac region, the people and naturally, to the drink we all know as Cognac. We have great admiration not only for the bigger houses such as Courvoisier, Camus and Hine, but also the smaller, family Cognac producers.

One day we were driving through the vineyards close to Blanzac, in the Fins Bois region, when we discovered a small producer we'd never seen or heard of before: This led us to think that there are so many brands out there that people don't know about. Neighbours, producers and friends have since introduced us to the wide field of different brandies and the whole Cognac experience. For example, one evening at a dinner in the neighbourhood our host presented a seemingly simple VSOP. And it also came with an anecdote about a winegrower who wanted to convince the cellar master of Hennessy that he could produce a great blend, so he created that particular VSOP solely with that in mind. It was a fantastic blend... but one couldn't buy it. It was situations such as this that led us to the idea to start a blog about the most famous of all brandies, Cognac. In the beginning we just started with a small blog, with a short piece reporting about the latest VS Cognac our father had brought home.

Today it's a much more than a blog; it's a website with a list of all cognac brands and producers, bottles and products, as well as a place that users on a global scale can exchange and talk about their experiences.

These days we regularly visit estates from André Petit and Bache-Gabrielsen to Rémy Martin and Martell, have the privilege to taste rare Vintage or XO Cognacs; and we can exchange with enthusiasts and professionals worldwide. It's fantastic.

We created this website to share the unbelievable diversity of brandy brands and producers with an international readership, and we must say - it works!

Sophie and Max