Discover Cognac Country: From Vine to Glass

Day One

• Arrive at Bordeaux airport and group transfer to your relais accommodations in the heart of Cognac country.
• After checking in, take a brief walk through the scenic village of St. Preuil to learn a bit about vine growing and stop at a distillery.
• Enjoy your first 2-hour Cognac master class, which is lead by a guide and certified cognac educator, who will introduce you to cognac’s flavors, blends, and characteristics.
• Return to the relais for an aperitif and dinner tasting.
• Overnight.

Day Two

• Breakfast.
• In the morning, visit a traditional distillery, where you’ll learn about the art of making cognac. This distillery is an independent one, and, to this day, uses Fille Blanche grapes as well as a still that is heated with coal and wood.
• Enjoy a traditional lunch at a restaurant situated among the beautiful vineyards.
• In the afternoon, tour a cooperage, where you’ll discover the role of the cooper, who makes the wooden barrels that cognac is aged in.
• Continue your tour with your guide to another distillery, where they specialize in cask strength cognacs; you’ll see how they distill using two stills of different sizes. Following the tour, sit down for a fabulous dinner that’s been made by the distillery’s owner!
• Return to the relais and overnight.

Day Three

• Following breakfast, it’s on to the next distillery, this one a professional one that works with a famous trading house. This morning you’ll discover both sides of the business of cognac: the Cognac marketers — otherwise known as the trading houses — as well as the wine distillers — who own the vineyards and produce the wine.
• Lunch to follow in the bustling city of Cognac, which started as a thriving river port.
• After lunch, it’s time to explore the city’s history with the brandy that goes by the same name. First stop at MACO, a museum that is all about Cognac; the permanent exhibition spans two floors and includes more than 800 artifacts.
• Next, visit a famous trading house (this may be Rémy Martin, Martell, or Courvoisier); whichever house you visit, you’ll be taught the different stages of cognac production. The visit ends with a cognac tasting.
• On the way back to the relais, stop to see the biggest collection of cognacs in the entire world.
• Before heading back to your room, have dinner at the relais.
• Overnight.

Day Four

• Breakfast and check out of the relais.
• En route back to Bordeaux on your group transfer, stop at a mixed cropping farm, where a small distillery is situated. Here you’ll learn a bit about the reasons for mixed farming from the owner.
• You’ll arrive at the Bordeaux airport mid morning.
• Au revoir!