It turned out that in addition to vodka in Moscow there is another museum dedicated to alcoholic beverage - Museum of the History of cognac. It is located at the Rechnoy Vokzal metro station. I sometimes met mentions of it on the Internet, but somehow I myself did not have to go there.

From the River Station to the Museum of the History of Cognac, you can take buses №851, №199 or minibus №105, to the stop "Canal named after Moscow". This is the second or third stop from the River Station. Not a long drive, about 7 minutes. You can drive to the museum and from the metro station. Voikovskaya - by trolleybus no. 43 or minibus no. 309, the same stop. The museum is located on the territory of the KiN brandy factory. If you go from the river station, the stop will be right in front of the plant. It is hidden behind trees, so it is not very noticeable.

It is better to arrive 10 minutes before the start of the excursion. If earlier, you will have to wait longer at the checkpoint, and okay, if the weather is good. In the rain or snow, the only place to hide is the shop at the factory, where they sell their own brandy and wine.

Exactly at 15:00 (the time for which the excursion around the museum was scheduled), the entrance door opened and we were finally allowed into the territory of the plant. Do not forget to take your passport with you, you cannot pass without it. They also warn about this when registering for an excursion.

The excursion began with the introduction of the guide. You can see it in the video below. Watching the recording, you will find out what exactly will be told on the excursion.

The guide's name was Julia, a pleasant girl, it was clear from her that she herself really liked what she was talking about. In her story, there were no typical official guides' notes, as, for example, during a tour of, like: "Look here, here you see this and that."

I liked the excursion, here are some photos from the Cognac History Museum.

French alambic or distillation cube, in which cognac is produced.

Grandfather clock from the Charente department, the hands of which always indicate the time of the Cognac region. The unique 1850 watch with the "Cognac" mark on the dial is in perfect condition and chimes twice an hour. Such a watch is an inapplicable attribute of a wine-making house in the Cognac region in France - according to custom, jewelers gave them for a wedding to newlyweds who bought wedding rings from them.

In the dark cognac storehouse, there are the most precious items of the cognac economy - glass bottles of ladies-jean, braided with willow and centuries-old cobwebs. They are designed to store ready-made cognac spirits, often prepared by the distant great-grandfathers of today's vineyard owner. They have the most place of honor storage, where it is customary to talk in a half-whisper and in a respectful tone, so as not to disturb the priceless drink. This place is called in French simply and stylishly "paradis" or in Russian "paradise".

After telling about the history of cognac and the technology of its production, we moved on to the most, probably, interesting part of the excursion - tasting. In Russia, cognac, as a rule, is drunk in the same way as vodka - in one gulp. It turned out that this is not the right thing to do. Cognac has certain rituals that can / should be carried out before drinking, and you need to drink it differently in order to feel the whole aroma of the drink. We were given 3 types of cognac for tasting: four, six and eight years old. In general, I do not like cognac, more wine. I didn’t like either one of four or eight. The process itself was interesting: to smell, look at the light, see the dripping droplets (the older the cognac, the longer they form).

At the cognac tasting

After graduation, everyone who was on the excursion was given discount coupons to the store for the purchase of cognac. We did not use them, because my friend is also not a fan of cognac. We went to another store near the house, took good wine... It's a shame that they spend so much of it to make cognac.

Cognac has long been considered, and is considered at the present time a drink for true connoisseurs and gourmets. Unique aroma, tart taste and rich color - not every cognac master can achieve the desired characteristics. In the cognac craft, every detail is important, from the grape variety to the manufacture of an oak barrel for aging and storage.

The Museum of the History of Cognac is ready to lift the veil of secrecy and show how the drink is made. Amazing facts and myths, authentic tools and equipment for the production of cognac and, of course, master classes and tasting await you. For museum guests there are special discounts on coupons, so it is possible to witness the birth and development of the ice skate inexpensively.

Skate History Museum - nearby

It harmoniously combines the modern interior of the premises and ancient tools, which were touched by the hands of French winemakers who lived several centuries ago. Indescribable atmosphere Interesting Facts and an entertaining narration from the guide, as well as pleasant discounts on promotional codes will leave only pleasant memories from visiting the museum.

In the Cognac History Museum you will learn:

• Which way does cognac go from a simple vine to a fragrant and rich drink;
• How barrels for aging the drink are made;
• How cognacs differ among themselves;
• What does cognac combine with when used;
• How to taste and distinguish a fake correctly.

You will learn a lot of new and interesting things, and after visiting the museum you will become connoisseurs of this “king of drinks”.

The "Museum of the History of Cognac" hosted an international action "Night at the Museum", which was attended by almost 2 thousand Muscovites and guests of the city, despite the incessant rain. 308 sites received visitors on this unusual night, about 750 programs and events could be watched.

The tour of the KiN Moscow Wine and Cognac Factory took place in several stages: first, the guests were told about the history of the factory, shown the shops, past which the path to the Museum ran. The groups were accompanied by employees of the company, including the sales department, they spoke competently about the range of products, answered questions about the representation of drinks in retail chains.

Then the groups were met by the guides, at the same time up to 4 excursions took place in the Museum, each with up to 30 guests. The history of cognac in the Museum begins with a map of the Cognac region, visitors learn about how the Dutch came up with the idea of ​​distilling wine produced in this territory, how they sent it to the British, and they, instead of diluting it with water and drinking, consumed it in its pure form. This drink began to be called "brandy" ("burnt wine"), from where the word "brandy" came from. The French improved the technology and began to distill wine twice - and now double distillation is the fundamental principle of cognac production.

The group then learned about how the French tend to vineyards. Now 80% of farms use machinery for harvesting, previously it was mainly manual labor. Pressing grapes, fermentation, and now before the eyes of visitors - the central exhibit of the Museum, the highlight of the collection - the Charentes alembic. On his example, the guests study the distillation process. After that - a story about the difficult work of coopers - how to make a tree pliable, how to make a perfect barrel without a single nail and glue? The barrels are sent to storage. In this part of the Museum, visitors are impressed by the story of the "share of angels". But we will not reveal all the secrets that guests take with them after the excursion.

All visitors received gifts from the plant and discount coupons to the KiN brand store. They could also be exchanged for a card regular client... Everyone could get acquainted with the art of tasting.

The tours ended at about 3 am. Becoming participants in the Night at the Museum of the History of Cognac, the guests took a fresh look at the production of cognac, learned about the culture of drinking, how to choose a drink, how to distinguish a real factory product from a fake, and much more.

"Museum of the History of Cognac" works all year round- both on weekdays and weekends by appointment.

The Cognac History Museum is located in Moscow on the territory of the KiN wine and brandy factory. And this, by the way, the only such museum in Russia... On two floors of the museum, you can trace the long path of cognac production - from the vine to the real "liqueur of the gods", as Victor Hugo called it.

Before the start of the excursion at the checkpoint you need to show your passport, without it, you will not be able to get through. However, they will tell you about this when you sign up for the excursion. The program of the visit, as a rule, includes a story about the history of cognac, a demonstration of the grape harvesting technology and the process of making this excellent drink, as well as a cognac tasting.

The tour began with the traditional opening speech of the guide, but to be honest, I immediately ran away from the group to take pictures of the exhibits calmly and without a crowd. Well, the pearl of the entire collection of the Museum of the History of Cognac - the Charentes alambic, or in other words, a distillation cube produced in 1900. Simply put, this is a huge and very beautiful moonshine still.

The grapes are grown on land with a high chalk content. That is why it turns out to be very sour. Such grapes are not suitable for wine production, but thanks to them, a great cognac is obtained.

By the way, absolutely all exhibits of the Museum of the History of Cognac are real, they were collected over a year and a half from different parts of France, which, by the way, is considered the historical homeland of cognac. The grandfather clock, for example, comes from the French department of Charente. The arrows always indicate the time of the Cognac region. The unique watch, released in 1850 and bearing the Cognac mark on the dial, is in perfect condition. Traditionally, jewelers of the Cognac region presented such watches to newlyweds, who bought rings from them.

Everything that is presented in the Museum of the History of Cognac in Moscow can be touched with your hands. This is what a ready-made barrel for cognac aging looks like.

And this is the room where barrels of cognac are stored - the so-called storage, a certain climate is always maintained here. By the way, cognac acquires such a fragrant bouquet thanks to its long-term storage in oak barrels... Moreover, the age of the oak from which the barrels are made must be at least forty years old. Some part of the cognac stored in a barrel evaporates - that's what the French affectionately call it "the share of angels".

And this filling machine, capable of filling six bottles at once, which significantly saves time spent on production.

The museum has a locker where the most different types cognac.

A device with which the quality of cognac was checked before mass production was launched.

And in such a cognac store there are the most valuable items are ladies-jean bottles made of glass, braided with willow and covered with cobwebs... Their purpose is to store ready-made cognac spirits, many of which were prepared many years ago. Especially for them, a place of honor has been set aside, in which it is customary to speak in a half whisper, so as not to disturb the priceless drink. The French call this place "paradis", which in Russian means "paradise".

In front of you fragrant table with vessels filled with various spices.

There are ready-made eaux-de-vie here. The composition of cognac, as a rule, includes cognac alcohols of different ages, when mixed, a unique taste of the drink is obtained.

For example, in France, cognac indicates the age of the youngest alcohol. But in Russia the age of cognac is the average age of all cognac spirits included in it.

Here are some more exhibits from the Museum of the History of Cognac. In fact, there are a lot of them.

The tour, as I already mentioned, ends with a tasting. In the Museum of the History of Cognac, we were taught to distinguish between the tastes of young and matured cognacs. We also learned how to properly combine cognac with food and how to serve it correctly.

To be honest, I don't really like cognac, so I didn't understand any of the three tastes. However, the process itself was interesting to me: to look at the light, smell and see the dripping droplets ...

The Museum of the History of Cognac in Moscow is, in fact, unique. Recommend!

The Museum of the History of Cognac in Moscow is the only one in Russia. It is located on the territory of "KiN" - the Moscow Wine and Brandy Factory.

The house for the museum was built in 2007 in the Charente style. This is a typical home of French winemakers. The interiors are stylishly decorated in the house - they are harmoniously complemented by old household items.

The entire exposition is aimed at tracing a long path, at the end of which the noblest drink is born - cognac. All the way from the vine, the production of oak barrels, to the mature, aromatic, aged cognac.

The museum has an amazing atmosphere. The exposition imperceptibly transports the visitor to France, to the fabulous, magical world of winemakers. The visitor gets acquainted with the art of winemaking, passed down from generation to generation. Winemakers have many secrets and the whole process of making cognac is shrouded in mystery.

In the exposition you can see rare exhibits, for example, genuine tools of French winegrowers, winemakers, coopers, unusual accessories used by the masters of cognac making. You can visit a dark, mysterious and gloomy cognac storehouse. The pearl of the museum exposition is the old Charentes alambik (alembic), which was created in 1900. All the exhibits of the museum are original, real and collected in the French province of Cognac, the birthplace of cognac.

In the final part of the excursion, the visitor of the museum participates in a tasting. He is introduced to the intricacies of this process, taught how to distinguish shades of taste, nuances of aroma of young cognac and old, aged cognac, how to serve it correctly and with what gastronomic dishes the taste of good cognac goes well.