MAIN Wine Europe France Armagnac

One of the oldest spirits in the world, Armagnac celebrated it's 700th anniversary celebrating in 2010.

While sales of Armagnac have always run a distant second to Cognac, vinters are out to change all that with aggressive marketing planned in future for their two most popular international Armagnac fan bases - in the US and Russia.

The difference between Armagnac and Cognac? It's in the age-old distillation process.

Created in multiple stages, Armagnac (pronounced arm-en-yak) usually retains a greater fruitiness in taste and aroma, and a texture that's generally richer and fuller.

As such, Armagnac is often described as a more voluptuous and sophisticated version of its younger sister.

The area of Armagnac is located in the southeast Gascony region of France -- famous for fois gras and other traditionally rich dishes. It is is divided into three different zones, Bas-Armagnac, Tenareze and Haut-Armagnac.

Meanwhile, the Armagnac-fortified sweet wines Floc de Gascogne, and the Cotes de Gascogne produced in the region originate from the same grapes, but are not distilled.

More information about Armagnac wineries & brandy around the Web:

Armagnac - This page of resources of Armagnac-related sites includes wineries, essays, sites that focus on the region, and sites dedicated to shopping. The rest is only available in French and includes a complete history of the region and the wines with pages of additional facts....