Winemaking results in plenty of grape skins and pips, and from these remains comes pomace brandy. The Italians call it grappa, while in French it’s marc, produced from Alsace and Burgundy to Provence and Languedoc. This heady, earthy spirit is seldom exported, making a tour of a marc distillery quite a mark of distinction for foreign visitors.
Armagnac shares many similarities with cognac, but it is distilled only once before being aged in oak barrels. The southwest – Gers, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne – is where to discover France’s oldest spirit. And it’s so easy to do, as more than a hundred Armagnac producers have banded together to offer not only visits and tastings, but also expositions, workshops and sip-and-stay packages.