Petite Champagne is a geographic zone of

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

production of approximately 66,000 hectares, of which about 15,000 are dedicated to wines destined for cognac, which can be marked as Petite Champagne or Petite Fine Champagne. It is situated in the

départements A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...

of Charente and

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

. The principal towns of the region are Barbezieux (Charente), Archiac and Jonzac (Charente-Maritime). In order of importance among the cognac ''crus'' (regions), Petite Champagne is second in place after

Grande Champagne Grande Champagne is a French district, called a ''cru'', known for its cognac. It produces the finest cognacs in a zone of 34703 hectares, of which 17% is dedicated to production of cognac, which can be marked as Grande Champagne or Grande Fin ...

. While having similar characteristics, the cognacs of Petite Champagne have always been considered of a lesser quality than those of Grande Champagne. Geologically, this region is composed of a thinner layer of

Calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

material than Grande Champagne. A blend of Grande and Petite Champagne Cognacs, with at least half the eaux-de-vie coming from Grande Champagne, is known as Fine Champagne.

References

External links

* French Wikipedia - Crus de cognac
Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac.
Cognac {{Charente-geo-stub