Grape Brandy (Eau-de-vie / Cognac-style) is a wash recipe targeting original gravity 1.085 with a dry white wine or white grape juice bill. Use it as the starting fermentation for brandy runs in Broover, or as a reference template for your own variation.
Sugar bill, yeast, nutrient, target original gravity, and fermentation temperature band. These values pre-fill the New Wash form so you're not retyping them every time you start a fermentation.
Cognac / Armagnac tradition. Two paths:
OPTION A — FROM WINE: Distil 25 L finished dry white wine direct. Ugni Blanc / Trebbiano / Folle Blanche are traditional for Cognac; any neutral dry white works. SKIP the ferment. Sulphites in wine are fine for distillation but high SO₂ carries flavour through — vent the still vapour or let wine air out 24h before distil.
OPTION B — FROM GRAPE JUICE: 25 L preservative-free white grape juice (Niagara / Concord / table-grape varieties). Add 1 kg sugar only if juice is below OG 1.080. EC-1118 + DAP. 14–21 day cool ferment at 15–20°C.
DISTILLATION: POT STILL, DOUBLE-DISTILLED (Cognac “bonne chauffe” method). First strip to ~30% ABV low wines. Second “bonne chauffe” to collect hearts at 70% ABV off the spout. Traditional Cognac cuts: TIGHT HEADS (preserve fruit), hearts run LONG into tails (the late hearts carry the brandy character), tails recycled.
AGING: French oak (Limousin or Tronçais), 2+ years minimum for any “brandy” character. Cognac classifications: VS (≥2 yr), VSOP (≥4 yr), Napoleon (≥6 yr), XO (≥10 yr). Small barrel (5–20 L) for home scale.
GOTCHAS: Commercial juice often has sorbate / sulphite — check label. High-quality grape juice from a winemaking supplier is best. Don’t over-cut heads — grape brandy hearts START earlier than grain spirits.
Source: HD forum + traditional Cognac references. Typical OG 1.080–1.090, FG 0.995, wash ABV 10–12%.
Broover is the workflow app for craft and home distillers — track every wash, distillation run, and bottled lot from a single screen with full provenance from kettle to bottle. Clone this recipe to your account and Broover pre-fills your next wash from these settings; strip and spirit runs link automatically, and the bottled lot at the end traces all the way back to this recipe.