Cognac Travel Guide

Situated on the banks of the river Charente amid vine-covered countryside, Cognac is undoubtedly one of France’s most idyllic towns. Today, it remains famous for producing the double-distilled spirit that proudly bears its name and upon which Cognac’s prosperity depends. Indeed, most visitors to Cognac head straight to the legendary Cognac houses, perhaps unwisely overlooking the town’s other attractions, namely its splendid architecture and a surfeit of delightful cafés and restaurants.

Cognac’s history dates back to the Neolithic period. The Charente was a vital food source for the surrounding populace, and the town’s early origins were likely as a river settlement. However, after Julius Caesar conquered Gaul in 52 BC, the Charente region remained under Roman control for several centuries; Cognac was known as Condate and was an essential strategic outpost in Gaul. Sadly, little evidence remains from this period, although historians are satisfied that the Romans introduced vines to Cognac, as they did across France.

In 406 AD, Roman control over Gaul collapsed as northern tribes such as the Vandals repeatedly attacked the Western Roman Empire. After the so-called Dark Ages, in which the Romans left a power vacuum in Western Europe, France fell under the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties’ control, who ruled France from the 5th to the 10th centuries.
By the Middle Ages, Cognac had become a thriving and prosperous town: a port was built to transport the precious salt cargo out of the region. In essence, this became a significant source of wealth in addition to Cognac’s burgeoning wine industry. Moreover, the town was granted tax privileges that favored its rapid development, and many beautiful houses and public buildings were constructed during this period. However, the Hundred Years War (1337-1453) would end Cognac’s prosperity as English and French forces battled to control the region’s lucrative salt and wine trades.

In the 16th century, King François l ascended the French throne; the monarch was born in Cognac’s castle in 1494, and today, the town’s main square is named after him. Yet despite the arrival of Italian Renaissance culture, this would prove to be a very turbulent century for France, not least during the outbreak of The Wars of Religion (1561-1598) between Huguenots (Protestants) and Catholic loyalists.

The catalyst for the conflict was the Reformation ideas of John Calvin, an intellectual born in Noyon who fled to Geneva to avoid persecution. The Bourbon King Henri IV only added fuel to the fire with his controversial Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed Protestants many civil and political rights. However, Cognac was designated one of the four places of safety granted to the Protestants by the Peace of Saint Germain en Laye.
During this period, the region started to become renowned for producing brandy – in the 16th century, Dutch settlers came to Cognac primarily to purchase salt. However, the intrepid explorers also started developing a lucrative business trading local wines. However, the perilous sea journey would often render the wine rancid, so the settlers needed an effective method of preserving it. They started by distilling the wine into eau-de-vie, which was a good solution for preservation, but eventually, they realized a second distillation made for a finer product. Voila – brandy, or rather Cognac, was born. Indeed, the word “brandy” comes from the Dutch word “brandewijn,” which means burnt wine.

In the 17th century, Cognac’s salt trade declined in importance as the brandy trade prospered, partly driven by the Huguenots, who had strong ties with Holland. Also, the Sun King, Louis XIV, granted the town several privileges after Cognac stood against his enemy, the Fronde, an alliance of princes, the nobility, the law courts (parlements), and most French people. As a result, Irish and some British families arrived in ever-higher numbers, keen to take advantage of this new lucrative brandy trade.

Social and economic upheaval marked the 18th century, not least the outbreak of the French Revolution, which claimed many lives during the reign of terror and put a temporary halt to exports of Cognac, hurting the town’s prosperity significantly. However, by the late 19th century, Cognac was the most important export for the Charente region – many merchants built elegant townhouses at the end of this century, although the phylloxera outbreak affected many wine grower’s livelihoods. In 1888, the famous politician Jean Monnet was born into one of the merchant families, a man partly responsible for creating the European Union.

The outbreak of two world wars would mark the 20th century; as in the rest of the country, following the First World War, the population of Cognac declined significantly. Yet, the post-war years were relatively prosperous for Cognac. The French railroad system’s development made exporting far easier, and Cognac became the drink du jour of the European upper classes.

Sadly, the Second World War outbreak in 1939 would bring more suffering to the people of Cognac; by June 1940, the nation had capitulated and was divided into the Nazi-occupied north and the puppet Vichy regime in the south.

Despite these hardships, any visitor to Cognac today cannot help but notice the town’s prosperous, confident air, primarily due to its signature spirit’s monumental global success. But even if you’re not a fan of the local firewater, plenty of other attractions keep you interested. The charming village of Saintes, a short drive away from Cognac, was the former Gallo-Roman capital of Aquitaine. Its cobblestone lanes, markets, cafés, and medieval buildings are fit for a king, just like the fine Cognac made today in this beautiful part of captivating France.