干邑白蘭地的故事

The Story of Cognac

All Cognac is Brandy but not all Brandy is Cognac.

這是一篇說明文，但文字并不枯燥。文章用不同的方式表達相同的意思，如for the first time、as early as等；文中還適當使用插入語調整文章的節奏，如among other places、as it’s known等。同時，句子結構富于變化，長句與短句交替出現，使文章顯得輕松活潑。總的來說，這是一篇說明文的佳作，讀者可在閱讀時多加留意，學習優秀的寫法。

In the Department of Charente， in southwest France， is a city which once had an important salt trade， switched to wine 1）distilling and became the centre of a region producing a world-famous drink. A drink as noble as it is 2）enshrouded in myth. A drink that bears its name， Cognac.

The term “Cognac” as a drink came to be used for the first time in a purchase contract drawn up by a merchant in La Rochelles in 1617. But there’s evidence that Cognac was being distilled as early as 1549. By the mid-1600s the growth in trade led to the establishment of the first merchants， and the first taxes were levied on the beverage.

By the early 18th century， 3）eau de vie was being distilled across the region around Cognac， and was growing in popularity in， among other places， England. And it was from England specifically that many fortunefinders came to try their hand at Cognac production. Some of the biggest and best-known examples are Martel， who came here from 4）Jersey in 1715， Hennessy， from Ireland in 1765， and Hine from Dorset， England， in 1792.

Champagne isn’t just a drink. The word， in winegrowing circles， also 5）denotes 6）chalky soil. This type of soil is excellent for growing the grape varieties used for making sparkling wines as well as still wines for distillation into spirits.

The grapes are harvested relatively early， from midSeptember to mid-October， this to retain a high acidity level.

Immediately after harvesting， the grapes are pressed then left to 7）ferment naturally for between 10 to 21 days before they’re ready for distillation. Only alcohol distilled in the district in a traditional Alambique Charentais still may call itself Cognac. The copper-pot still， as it’s known， mustn’t contain more than 3，000 litres at the second distillation stage， and has to be heated by bare flames. The wine reaches an alcohol content of about 25 to 30% volume at the first stage of distillation， and it reaches a maximum of 72% volume at the second stage. After the second stage， only the best， the heart of the distillation， is kept. The distiller separates the heart from the heads and the tails through a process called 8）gutting. The heads and the tails are mixed with the next batch of wine to be redistilled. Thus， only the heart， a clear spirit or eau de vie， is kept for aging to become Cognac.

Regulations 9）stipulate that the alcohol is stored in oak 10）casks in the district for at least two years. However， three years is the usual age at which a young Cognac is bottled and dispatched from the producer. Distillation has to take place between the 1st of October in the year the grapes have been harvested and the 31st of March. The next Cognac year then 11）commences on the 1st of April. That’s the point at which the countdown for the next batch starts and the Cognac that’s already casked becomes a year older.

法國西南部的夏朗德省有一個昔日的食鹽貿易重鎮，該鎮后來轉為釀制蒸餾酒，并成為一種世界名酒的中心產地。這是一種有如神話般高貴的酒，一種以其產地命名的酒——干邑白蘭地。

“干邑”作為酒名首次出現在1617年，那是一份由拉羅謝爾市商人擬定的購買合同。但有證據顯示，早在1549年人們就會用蒸餾法制作干邑白蘭地了。到了17世紀中葉，白蘭地貿易的增長催生了首批酒商，當地第一次對白蘭地征稅。

到了18世紀初，干邑鎮周邊的地區都在釀造白蘭地酒，這里出產的酒在英格蘭等地聲名鵲起。于是很多英格蘭“掘金者”專程到此，想在干邑白蘭地生產上一試身手。其中最成功、名聲最大的包括澤西島的馬爹利、愛爾蘭的軒尼詩和英格蘭多塞特郡的御鹿，他們分別于1715年、1765年和1792年到達此地。

香檳不僅僅是指一種酒。在葡萄種植的圈子里，這個詞也表示白堊土。這種土質非常適宜種植不同品種的釀酒葡萄，這些葡萄可用于釀造起泡葡萄酒和無氣葡萄酒，而后者又可以蒸餾釀成高濃度烈酒。

葡萄的采摘季節相對較早，從九月中旬開始到十月中旬結束，這樣做可以讓葡萄保存較高的酸度。……