115 - AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE NEAR COGNAC, CHARENTE, FRANCE (45°42' N, 0°17' W).
In the 19th century, phylloxera, an aphid-like insect, ravaged the vineyards of Charente along with nearly half of all French vines. A major part of the grape stocks of this region was replaced by cereal plantings, which still dominate the landscape. The vineyards were gradually restored around the city of Cognac, where the production of the liquor of the same name has steadily increased. Growing on chalky soil, the ugni blanc grape (known locally as Saint-Émilion) yields a wine that is distilled and aged in oak casks to produce cognac. Currently the equivalent of 1 billion bottles, or six years worth of stock, is being aged. The trade name Cognac is restricted to this area alone, limited by legal decree since 1909, and is divided into six vintages. Cognac takes up 11 percent of the agricultural land in its region and employs around 19,000 people: not just in vineyards and distilleries, but also in all the associated trades such as corkage, bottling, packaging, and marketing. Of the total production, 94.3 percent is exported, chiefly to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.