How to Distill Wine to Cognac

1. Use high quality grapes to make wine. The grapes used in the wine or brandy that you plan to distill should be fairly weak and acidic. These are somewhat rare and the grapes are typically used to produce small batches of wine.

2. Choose the proper wood for aging. Before the aging process, cognac is typically unpalatable. Cognac, like wine, is the product of grapes and oak is the most common choice for aging. Oak is very porous and keeps the Cognac in in consistent contact with the air from the aging cellars.

3. Press and ferment the grapes in the oak barrels. The wood from the oak will transfer tannins and added taste to the spirit.

4. Pour the fermented wine into pots and enclose them in the brick kiln. Heat kiln to between 173 degrees Fahrenheit and 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Repeat the process until the alcohol vaporizes and separates from the liquid. The alcoholic vapor will become a condensed liquid that some refer to as "broullis." Repeat this process, called "double distillation." By repeating the distillation process twice, the final product will have a higher alcohol content and a stronger taste, which differentiates cognac from the wine it began as.

5. Age your cognac. The aging is also called degradation or hydrolysis and it flattens the cognac. Let it mature for two to three years or longer to develop complexity, aroma and higher quality taste.

6. Let the cognac oxidize. When the cognac is transferred into glass it stops maturing and becomes ready for bottling or consumption.