Bardet Club

Phylloxera in the Charentes: How the Cognac Vineyards Nearly Vanished Before Being Reborn

Bardet Club — 2026-10-11T21:08:37Z

In 1868 an almost invisible insect began destroying the vines of the Charentes. Within a few decades it transformed the landscape, ruined estates and threatened the entire Cognac economy. Yet out of this disaster a profoundly renewed vineyard would be born.

When vines were the wealth of the Charentes

Today the rows of vines stretching around Cognac, Segonzac or Pons seem to have always been part of the landscape.

Yet at the end of the 19th century these lands went through one of the greatest agricultural disasters in their history.

Before phylloxera arrived, the Charente vineyard was immense. The vine held an essential place in the rural economy and supported far more than the growers alone: distillers, coopers, merchants, carriers and labourers all depended directly or indirectly on the production of wines and eaux-de-vie.

In 1875 the Charente harvest still reached 14.1 million hectolitres of wine.

But this prosperity rested on a fragile balance.

An insect from North America was about to upset it.

1868: an invisible enemy arrives in the vineyard

The first outbreaks of phylloxera were reported in the Charentes in 1868, in the canton of Pons, notably in the commune of Montils.

The parasite attacks mainly the roots of the vines. The vines weaken, produce less, and eventually die.

The danger is all the greater because the damage often spreads underground, before any symptoms become visible.

In 1870 phylloxera reached the plantings of Chérac. The following year it entered the Cognac vineyard through Merpins and Crouin.

Then came 1874, the year of the “great invasion”.

From then on, the disaster affected a growing share of the two Charente departments.

Growers watched helplessly as their land withered.

Within a few years, the vineyard collapses

The figures show the scale of the disaster.

In 1877 the Charente harvest reached only about 8.5 million hectolitres. Two years later it fell below 2 million.

Yields, formerly between 30 and 45 hectolitres per hectare, sometimes dropped to just 4 to 9 hectolitres.

In Charente-Maritime the situation was particularly dramatic. In 1879, out of 161,000 hectares of vines, only 14,000 hectares were still intact, while 29,000 hectares were being grubbed up.

In the canton of Pons, half the plantings were already out of production by 1876.

The destruction was no longer limited to a few plots. A whole agricultural system was collapsing.

Grande Champagne, a terroir hit especially hard

At the heart of the Cognac country, the limestone lands of Grande Champagne suffered badly from the crisis.

These chalky soils, renowned for the quality of the eaux-de-vie they produce, would also complicate reconstruction.

Phylloxera caused many plantings to disappear. Some plots were abandoned, others converted to crops or pasture.

But the real difficulty would appear when the time came to replant.

The first American rootstocks, able to resist the parasite, were not always suited to soils rich in active lime. In particular they suffered from chlorosis, a disorder that compromises their growth.

While some areas began to rebuild their vineyards, the chalky Champagne had to wait longer.

Its reconstruction only really began around 1895, and the first replantings remained very localised.

A human disaster: villages empty out

Behind the disappearance of the vines lay a considerable social upheaval.

Families lost their income. Some farms could no longer be kept going. Investment stopped and part of the population left the countryside.

Between 1876 and 1891 the canton of Segonzac lost 3,066 inhabitants.

In some communes of the Champagne around Segonzac, the population fell by 20 to 30%.

The value of land collapsed too.

At Touzac, in Grande Champagne, a hectare of vineyard land that could be worth 6,000 francs now changed hands for only 750 francs.

This fall in prices did, however, encourage the arrival of new farmers, notably from Poitou and Limousin.

The human landscape of the Charentes changed along with its agricultural landscape.

Cognac itself is under threat

The disappearance of the vine naturally reduced the volume of wine available for distillation.

At first the merchant houses drew on their reserves of old eaux-de-vie to keep trading.

But stocks are not inexhaustible.

As the shortage set in, prices rose sharply.

In 1879 a hectolitre of Grande Champagne eau-de-vie was worth about 180 francs. In 1886–1887 it exceeded 750 francs.

Cognac became scarcer, and eaux-de-vie produced before the disaster took on considerable value.

The phylloxera crisis therefore threatened more than the growers: it weakened an entire regional economy built around the vine.

Science to the rescue of the Charente vines

Faced with the disaster, growers, merchants and scientists looked for solutions.

As early as 1874, under the presidency of Édouard Martell, the Cognac trade founded a Viticulture Committee and financed the opening of a viticultural station.

Several treatments were tried, notably carbon disulphide from 1878.

But these methods remained costly and insufficient to save the vineyard for good.

The real solution emerged gradually thanks to American vines.

Some of them have a root system that is naturally more resistant to phylloxera.

The idea was therefore to graft French grape varieties onto American rootstocks.

This process keeps the qualities of the traditional grapes while protecting the roots against the parasite.

However, rootstocks able to tolerate the limestone soils of the Charentes still had to be found.

The research of scientists such as Pierre Viala, Alexis Millardet and Louis Ravaz gradually helped to solve this problem.

Charente viticulture then entered a new era.

1890–1910: the long rebirth of the vineyard

From the 1890s, reconstruction gathered pace.

Nurseries had to be created, grafted plants produced, rootstocks selected, growers trained and, above all, the financial means to plant found again.

The merchant houses took part in this effort.

During the winter of 1897–1898, the house of James Hennessy distributed 32,900 grafted plants free of charge in several communes of the canton of Segonzac.

Agricultural lectures were also organised to explain the new techniques of grafting, pruning, treatment and fertilisation.

Even so, the rebirth remained slow and uneven.

At the start of the 20th century, the Charente vineyard was still far from its pre-crisis extent.

Historical data mention about 280,000 hectares before the great destruction, compared with 62,000 hectares planted in 1905.

Reconstruction was therefore not a return to what had been.

It was the birth of a new vineyard.

A new vineyard, new grape varieties

The phylloxera crisis changed wine-growing practices for good.

Before the disaster, Folle Blanche held a major place among the grape varieties of the Charentes.

But this variety proved fragile in the face of certain diseases.

As reconstruction went on, Ugni blanc gradually gained ground. Hardier and particularly well suited to producing wines for distillation, it eventually became largely dominant.

Today it accounts for more than 98% of the plantings of the Cognac vineyard.

This shift is one of the most visible legacies of the crisis.

The present-day vineyard thus rests on technical and agronomic choices born of the need to survive.

A rebirth that prepares the return to the Champagne lands

At the turn of the 20th century, the rebuilding of the Charente vineyard was still far from complete.

But the foundations of its rebirth were now in place.

Growers had better-suited rootstocks, were gradually mastering grafting and understood the constraints of the different terroirs better.

This progress opened the way to a new stage: the reconquest of abandoned vineyard land, notably in the limestone areas of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne.

This movement would continue over the following decades.

The disaster thus helped to transform the geography of Charente viticulture, by forcing growers to rethink their plantings and their production methods.

Conclusion: a vineyard saved by perseverance

Crossing the landscapes of Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne or the Borderies today, it is hard to imagine that these lands went through such desolation.

And yet behind today's vines lies a history of destruction, research and reconstruction.

Phylloxera ruined estates, upended villages and threatened the very future of Cognac.

But it also led growers to transform their practices and to build a new vineyard.

The rebirth of the Charente vineyard was not only a victory over an insect. It was the result of several decades of effort, innovation and handing down.

A history that reminds us that today's vineyard landscapes are also the legacy of the generations who refused to let the vine disappear.

Read on: 1910–1939: How the Cognac Vineyards Won Back Their Champagne Lands

Also worth reading: Fine à l'eau: Cognac and Water, the Belle Époque Way

Key dates

1868: phylloxera appears in the canton of Pons.
1871: the parasite reaches the Cognac vineyard.
1874: the great invasion and the creation of the Viticulture Committee.
1879: the Charente harvest collapses below 2 million hectolitres.
1880s: experiments with American rootstocks develop.
Around 1895: late start of replanting in the chalky Champagne lands.
1897–1898: thousands of grafted plants distributed in the canton of Segonzac.
1905–1910: a new vineyard takes shape, despite areas that are still very small.

Historical sources

Gilles Bernard, Le Cognac dans la tourmente du phylloxéra : 1868-1910, Groupe de Recherches et d'Études Historiques de la Charente Saintongeaise (GREH), Segonzac, December 2006.

Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), documentation on the grape varieties of Cognac and the history of the Charente vineyard.

1910–1939: How the Cognac Vineyards Won Back Their Champagne Lands

Bardet Club — 2026-10-11T21:03:18Z

From the devastation left by phylloxera to the revival of the limestone slopes, a look back at thirty decisive years that shaped the landscape and identity of the Cognac vineyards.

A wine-growing land scarred by disaster

At the start of the 20th century, the vineyard landscapes of the Charentes still bore the scars of an unprecedented disaster: phylloxera.

Arriving in the Charente vineyards in the 1870s, this tiny insect from America gradually ravaged the plantings. Within a few decades, the immense vineyard that had made the region's wealth had collapsed.

In the countryside of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne, the consequences ran deep. Some plots were abandoned, others turned over to cereals or pasture. Families left their farms, and villages suffered the lasting effects of the crisis.

Yet the vine never disappeared completely.

From the end of the 19th century, progress in grafting onto American rootstocks resistant to phylloxera made reconstruction conceivable. But this revival was slow, costly and uneven.

In 1910 the Charente vineyards thus entered a new phase of their history: the gradual reconquest of their favoured lands.

1910–1914: the return to the limestone slopes

Before the phylloxera crisis, the vine held a considerable place in the Charente landscape, including on land less obviously suited to it.

Reconstruction gradually led growers to rethink where vines should be planted.

The limestone slopes of Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne regained particular interest. These lands, renowned for producing fine eaux-de-vie suited to long ageing, are an essential wine-growing heritage for the Cognac region.

Around Segonzac, Juillac-le-Coq, Genté, Salles-d'Angles and Archiac, the replanting of the vineyard was part of a wider move towards agricultural specialisation.

Growers nevertheless had to face several difficulties:

The high cost of planting new vines.
The need to master grafting and rootstocks.
Adapting grape varieties to limestone soils.
The wait of several years before the first harvests.
Uncertain commercial outlets.

This reconquest was therefore not a simple return to the past. It marked the birth of a different vineyard: more technical, more selective and increasingly geared towards producing quality eaux-de-vie.

1914–1918: a revival interrupted by war

When the First World War broke out, the Charente vineyards were still in the middle of reconstruction.

The mobilisation of the men turned the farms upside down. Women, the elderly and the youngest carried out much of the agricultural work, in difficult conditions.

Yet the vine demands constant care: pruning, soil upkeep, treatments, harvesting and monitoring for disease.

Labour shortages, supply difficulties and economic constraints slowed new plantings.

The war thus delayed the replanting movement without destroying it.

In many wine-growing families, simply keeping the existing vines became a form of resistance. Plantings were maintained as far as possible, in the hope of resuming their development after the conflict.

1919–1929: reconstruction and the pursuit of quality

After the armistice, the Charente vineyards gradually regained prospects for development.

The 1920s were an important period in the reorganisation of the region's viticulture.

The rebuilding of the vineyard went hand in hand with changing practices. Growers sought to understand better the relationships between soils, grape varieties, yields and the quality of the eaux-de-vie.

Grafting was now an unavoidable part of viticulture. Plantings rested on more considered technical choices, while the mix of grape varieties evolved.

Ugni blanc gradually grew in importance. Its productivity, its acidity and its suitability for wines intended for distillation encouraged its spread, even though other traditional varieties remained.

In the Champagne lands, this period also strengthened an old conviction: not all terroirs give the same eaux-de-vie.

The chalky soils of Grande Champagne in particular are associated with eaux-de-vie recognised for their finesse and ageing potential.

Reconstruction thus became as much a matter of geography as of economics.

1930–1936: economic crisis and the recognition of terroirs

The 1930s brought new difficulties.

The world economic crisis affected trade and weakened markets. For a region whose activity depends heavily on selling cognac, the consequences were significant.

The question of the origin and quality of the eaux-de-vie took on growing importance.

One major event had already prepared the ground: the decree of 1 May 1909, which delimited the cognac production region.

But it was between the wars that the recognition of terroirs asserted itself with new force.

The decree of 13 January 1938 enshrined the delimitation of the cognac crus, among them Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne.

This recognition was the culmination of a long history: that of empirical knowledge of the soils, of distillation practices and of the commercial reputation of the eaux-de-vie.

The Champagne lands were no longer merely renowned wine-growing landscapes. They were now part of an official geography of cognac production.

1937–1939: a transformed vineyard on the eve of a new conflict

By the end of the 1930s, the Charente vineyards were profoundly different from those that existed before phylloxera.

They had not everywhere regained their former extent, and replanting remained uneven from one village and one estate to the next.

But they now stood on new foundations.

Resistant rootstocks had made it possible to stabilise the plantings. Agronomic knowledge had improved. Growers had developed practices better suited to the constraints of their terroirs.

Above all, the vineyard was organising itself around a stronger identity: that of a production intended to make an eau-de-vie of recognised origin.

Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne held a central place in this development.

On the eve of the Second World War, the reconquest remained unfinished, but the essential had been achieved: the limestone lands had regained their wine-growing vocation and their role in the future of cognac.

A reconquest that shaped today's landscapes

Between 1910 and 1939, the Charente vineyards did not simply rebuild. They reinvented themselves.

The phylloxera disaster had overturned an old agricultural system. The following decades forced choices: where to replant, which grape varieties to favour, how to produce and how to protect the reputation of the eaux-de-vie.

The return of the vine to the Champagne lands illustrates this transformation.

Behind the rows of vines that today trace the slopes of Segonzac, Genté or Archiac lies a history made of crises, patience and handing down.

It was the generations of growers of the inter-war years who helped lay the foundations of the present-day vineyard.

For the revival of the Charente vineyards was far more than an agricultural reconstruction: it was the reconquest of a terroir, a craft and an identity.

Read the previous chapter: Phylloxera in the Charentes: How the Cognac Vineyards Nearly Vanished Before Being Reborn

Also worth reading: Fine à l'eau: Cognac and Water, the Belle Époque Way

Cognac News: What the English-Language Press Is Saying, October 2026

Bardet Club — 2026-10-11T20:49:00Z

From a courtroom in Angoulême to a château film set, the English-language press has had plenty to say about cognac over the past three weeks. Here are four stories worth a cognac lover's attention, with our own short comment on each.

Growers win their contract case against Sazerac

The Spirits Business reports that the commercial court in Angoulême has ordered Sazerac de Segonzac, the French subsidiary of the American group Sazerac Company, to carry out its supply contracts as agreed. The case concerns 45 cognac grape growers whose multi-year contracts were terminated in January 2026. The decision was announced by the growers' union, the UGVC, chaired by Julien Massé.

According to the article, Sazerac is expected to appeal and did not reply to a request for comment. The magazine places the dispute in the context of the downturn in cognac, linked in part to US tariffs and Chinese anti-dumping duties.

Our view: A multi-year contract is what lets a grower plan and invest, so it is reassuring to see a court take it seriously. With an appeal expected, the matter is probably not closed.

Source: The Spirits Business

Fanny Fougerat returns to the UK market

The single-estate house Fanny Fougerat is back in the United Kingdom, The Spirits Business reports. It has appointed Double Six Drinks, a Yorkshire producer and distributor founded in 2020, as its exclusive distributor. Double Six will concentrate on premium bars and restaurants and on specialist retailers.

Fanny Fougerat, a fifth-generation distiller, founded her house in 2013 and names her cognacs after plants and trees. The range covered by the deal includes a VSOP, an XO and an Extra Old, plus limited single cask and vintage bottlings. The article describes them as unblended and bottled without chill filtration or additives. The brand first reached the UK in 2017 through another distributor.

Our view: This is the kind of news we like: a grower-distiller with a clear identity finding a route to curious drinkers abroad. Unblended, single-estate cognacs are a good way to learn what the spirit tastes like before the blender's art comes in.

Source: The Spirits Business

Forbes looks at how Hennessy stays in pop culture

In Forbes, Lela London examines how Hennessy keeps its place in popular culture. She covers its long association with hip-hop and its current work with artists such as Bad Bunny, Tems, Jackson Wang and the pianist Lang Lang, each linked to a different part of the range, from VS and VSOP to XO and Paradis.

The article also covers the house's bottled cocktails for the US market, among them the Henny-Rita, sold in 375ml bottles at $15.99. It recalls the category's hard 2025, when cognac exports fell 15% by volume and 24% by value. It adds that Hennessy began its 2026 harvest on 20 August.

Our view: Celebrity partnerships and ready-to-serve cocktails may bring new drinkers to the category, and that benefits everyone in the region. We hope some of them go on to discover what lies beyond the famous labels.

Source: Forbes

Martell names Prince Gyasi as creative partner

Hypebeast reports that Maison Martell has named the Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi as its new creative partner. The page is marked as presented by Maison Martell. The collaboration opens with a film conceived by Gyasi and directed by TJ Sawyerr, shot at the Château de Chanteloup, Martell's estate.

The film uses vivid colour, Ghanaian pushcarts and an Afrobeats soundtrack to set up a dialogue between Accra and Cognac. Gyasi has grapheme-colour synaesthesia, meaning he associates letters, numbers and names with colours, and this shapes his visual approach. Further films, cultural experiences and house initiatives are planned, with no dates given.

Our view: The images are striking, and it is good to see Cognac in dialogue with Accra. Still, a film tells us nothing about what is in the glass, and that is where a house is finally judged.

Source: Hypebeast

This review summarises articles published by other media; the links lead to the original sources.

Fine à l'eau: Cognac and Water, the Belle Époque Way

Bardet Club — 2026-10-11T10:07:50Z

Before it became the great sipping spirit we know today, cognac was also enjoyed in a surprisingly simple way: lengthened with cool water, sometimes sparkling. This French tradition is largely forgotten today, and it deserves its place back at apéritif time.

When cognac was a café drink

Picture Paris in the Belle Époque, somewhere between 1880 and 1914. The terraces of the grand boulevards come alive, waiters weave between the tables, and conversations stretch on over a glass.

Among the drinks one could order was a preparation as simple as it was elegant: the Fine à l'eau.

At the time, cognac was not reserved for the end of a meal. It was also drunk as an apéritif, in cafés, restaurants and fashionable establishments.

The Fine à l'eau consisted of lengthening a measure of wine brandy, usually cognac, with cool water.

The habit softened the strength of the alcohol while preserving the aromas of the spirit. It offered a lighter, more refreshing way to enjoy cognac, a long way from the image of a digestif served neat in a large balloon glass.

What is a “fine”?

To understand this tradition, we need to go back to the vocabulary of French brandies.

The word “fine” referred to a quality wine brandy, an eau-de-vie de vin. Cognac, made from white wines distilled in Charentais pot stills, naturally belonged to this family.

Ordering a “fine à l'eau” therefore meant asking for a wine brandy served with water, or lengthened with it.

The simplicity of the preparation was its whole charm: no sugar, no lemon, no unnecessary ingredients. Just a brandy, water, and the pleasure of bringing them together.

Seltzer water: the bubbles of the Belle Époque

The Fine à l'eau could be made with still water, but sparkling water added a particularly refreshing dimension.

At the end of the 19th century, seltzer water (eau de Seltz) held an important place in café culture.

Its name comes from Selters, a German town renowned for centuries for its naturally sparkling mineral waters.

As carbonation techniques developed, manufacturers also produced artificial seltzer waters, made by dissolving carbon dioxide in water under pressure.

These waters were often served from magnificent siphons of thick glass, clear, green or blue, topped with a metal head.

Now sought after by collectors, these siphons have become true symbols of the cafés of the past.

The way they worked was ingenious: pressing the lever released a jet of highly sparkling water, so drinks could be lengthened directly in the glass.

A distinction should be made, however, between the traditional Fine à l'eau, which could be made with still water, and its sparkling version from the siphon.

The proportions of the Fine à l'eau in the Belle Époque

Unlike modern cocktails, whose recipes are often precisely codified, the Fine à l'eau had no universal measure.

The principle was to let each person adjust the amount of water to their own taste.

Historical descriptions of the drink mention proportions ranging from one part cognac to between one and three parts water.

For a 4 cl measure of cognac (about 1⅓ US fl oz), this gives:

Style	Cognac	Water
Strong Fine à l'eau	4 cl	4 cl
Balanced Fine à l'eau	4 cl	8 cl
Light Fine à l'eau	4 cl	12 cl

These proportions are traditional guidelines, not an official recipe or a measure documented in every café of 1900.

Dilution profoundly changes the tasting experience. It reduces the sensation of alcoholic heat and shifts the balance between the fruity, floral and woody aromas of the cognac.

Water therefore does more than lengthen the spirit: it transforms its aromatic expression.

Why did the Fine à l'eau disappear?

Over the course of the 20th century, the way spirits were consumed changed.

Cognac gradually established itself in the collective imagination as a sipping spirit, associated with ageing in oak casks, with special occasions and with the digestif.

At the same time, new drinks and new cocktails took a growing share of apéritif time.

The Fine à l'eau slowly faded from view.

Yet it never disappeared completely. Its spirit lives on in many contemporary ways of enjoying cognac: on ice, with sparkling water, with tonic, or in long drinks.

Today, as drinkers rediscover lighter, less sweet and simpler drinks, this tradition has plenty to appeal to a new generation.

The traditional Fine à l'eau recipe

Ingredients for one glass

4 cl cognac
8 cl cool water, still or highly sparkling
A few ice cubes, to taste

Method

Pour the cognac into a glass.
Gradually add the well-chilled water.
Stir gently.
Serve at once.

For a presentation inspired by the old cafés, the water can also be served in a small carafe or a modern siphon alongside the glass of cognac.

Everyone then dilutes their own drink.

Which cognac to choose?

A young cognac, a VS or a VSOP, suits this preparation particularly well.

Cognacs with fruity and floral notes and a lively character often give an interesting result.

An older cognac can also be used, but the dilution should then be adjusted to preserve its aromatic balance.

Still water or seltzer?

Still water gives a soft, discreet Fine à l'eau in which the cognac keeps a fairly direct expression.

Highly sparkling seltzer water brings a livelier, almost tonic sensation and heightens the freshness of the drink.

For a particularly interesting experience, try a mineral water rich in bicarbonates, in the spirit of the historic waters of Selters.

The choice of water then becomes a genuine element of the recipe.

An old tradition, surprisingly modern

At a time when cocktails can pile up ingredients, techniques and garnishes, the Fine à l'eau is a reminder of something obvious: two elements are sometimes enough to create a fine tasting experience.

Cognac, water, and the right balance between the two.

With its low added-sugar content, its simple preparation and its link to the history of French cafés, it finds a natural place in today's world of the apéritif.

The Fine à l'eau is not just a historical curiosity.

It is another way of looking at cognac: less solemn, more convivial, and deeply rooted in the French art of living.

What if cognac's next great comeback at apéritif time were simply an idea more than a century old?

Sources and further reading: The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, edited by David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum; L. Ravaz, Le Pays du Cognac (1900); historical archives and publications of cognac houses and seltzer water producers.

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