Poitou-Charentes
Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Poitiers, the former capital of the region, is its chief city. Farming is important to the economy; wheat, corn, and cattle are raised. Industries produce machinery, chemicals, and dairy products.
The regionīs first known inhabitants, the Pictavi, a Gallic tribe, were conquered in 56 BC by the Romans who incorporated the area into Gaul as part of the province of Aquitania. The Visigoths seized the region in AD 418, but it passed to the Franks in 507. In 732 or 733, Charles Martel brought the Muslim invasion of Western Europe to a standstill by his victory in the Battle of Poitiers. From the 10th to the mid-12th century, the counts of Poitou were also the dukes of Aquitaine, and the city of Poitiers grew in importance. In 1152, Poitou came under English control through the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine to Henry II (later king of England). The region was reunited with the French crown in 1416 and was a province of France until the Revolution (1789-95), when it was divided into three departments, Vienne, Deux-Sevres, and Vendee.
When you arrive in the small town of Cognac you immediately smell what itīs famous for. Many distelleries give the air a heady scent.
Most people are here for visiting one or more of the cognac chais. Most of them are situated on the Grand Rue which winds through the old centre. One of the best to visit is Hennesy a major name in brandy-land and run by a family of Irish origin. Hennesy has some 200,000 barrels of true cognac in stock.
