Azienda Vitivinicola

Grape-growing and winemaking company. Like AZIENDA AGRICOLA and AZIENDA VINICOLA, the term often appears on wine labels.

What is the best way to store a bottle of Cognac or Armagnac?

A. On its side like a regular wine bottle

B. Standing upright

C. Completely upside down so that the liquid is in full contact with the cork

D. The spirit should be poured out of the bottle and stored in a decanter

Bottles of Cognac and Armagnac should be stored upright, not on their sides. The high alcohol content in these distilled spirits can rot the cork, causing unpleasant aromas inside the bottle.

“On more than one occasion in recent years, I’ve opened a wine list in a trendy restaurant and been a bit stumped. A lot of choices, but on the entire list, I may recognize about half the wines. I cannot imagine how a customer with less knowledge about wine than I, if such a person exists, feels reading an obscure wine list like that. Except intimidated. Which is not normally why a human goes to a restaurant. That’s why you go to church.”

—Ron Washam, The HoseMaster of Wine

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