architect meets cognac

I have already told you a lot about Braastad and their new organic cognac. Today I got a press release from another cognac house, Martell, telling me about their collaboration with French architect Jean Nouvel. So far I have only seen one example of his work "live"; Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris which is pretty cool. I think this cognac colored lamp is pretty cool too. What do you think?

Click here to read more about the architect cognac collaboration.

dinner in the french forest

After a full day of chateau living, cognac tasting, lunching in heaven and sightseeing, we dressed up and walked over to the surprise dinner location in the forest close to the chateau. It was the day's second visit to heaven and the perfect end to an absolutely amazing day!

This is also the end of my Cognac posts. Click the Cognac label to see all the posts, and visit this set on Flickr to see the photos.

Au revoir!

PS: These photos are a mix of shots taken with Canon D40 and Canon EOS 500N/Kodak Portra 160vc.

the city of Cognac

After seeing how Braastad cognac is being made and that amazing lunch we had a little time to spare, so we got to see a bit of the city of Cognac. Charming!

the french organic farm

It's time to show you more photos from my trip to Cognac in September.

We visited one of the farms that delivers wine to the production of Braastad's organic cognac. Daughter Pauline has recently taken over the farm from her dad Jean Franzois Decriox.


We got a tour of the farm and were told lots about organic farming. The Decrioxs are really passionate about their work. My fellow traveler Camilla wrote about it in her article for Side 2. You can read it here (in Norwegian).




This might be the best lunch spot ever, don't you think?!


The farm house had perfect rustic French charm.


It was a delicious feast and the atmosphere was so special; laid back and so real. It started to rain a bit at one point, but it didn't really matter. We just moved the table even more under the tree, and kept on eating and drinking.




See those figs above? (See them bigger here.) Straight from the tree and THE BEST I have ever had! They were so juicy, sweet and tasty.

Braastad Organic was launched in early September and is available in Norway at Vinmonopolets bestillingsutvalg (here). Master blender Richard's own My Selection was also launched then.

The photos above are a mix of digital shots taken with Canon 40D, black & white Rollei Retro 100 taken with Olympus mju, Kodak Portra 160vc and Agfa Precisa 100 taken with Canon EOS 500N.

Flickr set: France: Cognac

Chateau de Triac

Chateau de Triac is the home of Braastad Cognac. This is were we stayed during our visit to Cognac. It was fantastic! In fact you can stay there too if you want to. Contact the Braastad family via Braastad.com for more information. At the website you will also find more information about the chateau's history. PS: Cognac is on the house.

Braastad Cognac

The reason for my trip to Cognac in the beginning of September was a visit to Braastad in connection to the launch of their first organic cognac.

Braastad is a family-run house of cognac.

Sverre Braastad left his home in Norway with nothing but his good name, arriving in Cognac, France in 1899. On the banks of the Charente River, he fell in love with and married Edit Rousseau, daughter and heiress of the Cognac Tiffon distillers. Toghether they made the House of Tiffon into one of the largest family-owned producers in Cognac.

The Braastad family still harvests grapes and produces wine for the distillation of their Noble cognacs. These are then matured in old oak casks in dark cellars on the borders of the Charente River, ensuring unrivalled quality.

Text from Braastad.com, where you can read more about the Braastad family history.



Jan, head of finance, is Sverre Braastad's grandson and runs the company with his two cousins; master blender Richard and head of sales Antoine.



Cognac for Princess Ingrid Alexandra.

If you are interesting in learning how cognac is made, I recommend you take a look at the short videos at Braastad.com. In the videos Jan, Richard and Antoine talk about the process, the distillation, the taste, the blending and the grapes.



Taken with soda water or seltzer, it constituted the most hygienic of beverages summer. (Thanks Google Translate!)

We were served cognac with tonic as a pre dinner cocktail during our stay, and it was surprisingly good. I recommend you try it. Ginger ale is supposed to be a good mixer too, although I haven't tried it yet.

I must admit that cognac in general is a bit too strong for my taste. But I found out what kind of cognac I do like. We were lucky enough to taste some ca 80 years old grand champagne cognac which was absolutely superb! (Read about the indications of age and vintages here.)

To the right you see Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark's signature in the guest book.

Richard Braastad, master blender

The master blender is responsible for the blending of the different products within a House of Cognac. As well as creating new cognac blends, the Master Blender aims to achieve the exact same bouquet and sensory experience in each bottle of a certain product. But, as no grape harvest is equal and no oak cask exactly the same, this is easier said than done. Master Blender Richard has about 13.000 casks of cognac from different crus and of different ages to keep track of and to choose from when seeking perfection in his products.

Text from Braastad.com.

Braastad Organic was launched in early September and is available in Norway at Vinmonopolets bestillingsutvalg (here). Richard's own My Selection was also launched then.