How to check the production date of brandy? Is brandy XO?

Cognac is a type of brandy. Cognac is a region in France. This special brandy is very popular all over the world for its strong taste and aroma. Because most people are not exposed to this type of wine, we don't know much about it. The following article will introduce you to the relevant common sense in detail, hoping to open your eyes and allow you to taste it elegantly when you encounter such a scene in your life.

Contents of this article

1. How to check the production date of brandy

2. Is brandy XO?

3. The difference between brandy and cognac

How to check the production date of brandy

The production date of brandy can be checked from the bottle, cap and label. Brandy originally comes from the Dutch word Brandewijn, which means "burned wine". In a narrow sense, it refers to the wine obtained by distilling grapes after fermentation and then storing them in oak barrels. Brandy is a distilled wine made from fruits, which is brewed after fermentation, distillation and storage. The distilled wine made from grapes is called grape brandy, and the brandy we often talk about refers to grape brandy.

Is Brandy XO?

Not all brandies are XO. XO is a type of brandy - brandy aged in barrels for at least 6 years can be called XO, which is the highest grade of brandy. Brandy is made from grapes, fermented and distilled.

xo represents time

XO is the abbreviation of two English words, namely extra old, which means very old, at least 50 years old for wine. However, XO is not the name of a kind of wine, but a type of brandy that has been stored for more than a certain number of years. Later, XO became a special term for brandy.

Brandy is generally divided into three grades:

The first level is VS, which is three stars. French law stipulates that the minimum age of the original wine when blending cognac brandy must be at least 1.5 years.

The second level, VO, VOP, VSOP, etc., the minimum age of the original wine when blending is at least 4-4.5 years.

The third level, XO, Napoleon, Extra, etc., are very old aged brandies, known as fine or top-quality brandies, and the minimum age of the wine when blending is more than 6 years.

The difference between brandy and cognac

Cognac is a brandy. However, the production standards of Cognac are quite strict - only brandy produced in the Cognac producing area of ​​France, using specified grapes, distilled twice in a copper pot still, and aged in French oak barrels for more than 2 years can be called Cognac.

Cognac is a type of brandy. Cognac is a region in France. This particular brandy is popular around the world for its strong taste and aroma. This could be related to the fertile soil in the region or the way the brandy is processed. Cognac is essentially a distilled wine that is aged in wooden barrels for at least two years. This brandy goes through a special brewing process. The wine made from grapes is distilled twice in copper pots and then aged in oak barrels for at least two years. Not all brandy is cognac, only brandy produced in the Cognac region of France is called cognac.

Cognac needs to be aged in oak barrels for at least 2 years before it can be released on the market. VS, VSOP and XO are actually the three levels of Cognac aging. They are as follows:

There are three grades of Cognac:

VS (Very Special): Brandy stored in oak barrels for at least two years.

VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale): Brandy that has been stored in oak barrels for at least four years.

XO (Extra Old): Stored in oak barrels for at least six years, and ten years after 2016.