All crazy for Armagnac ?

Long excluded from the world of Armagnac, women are nowadays very present in the production cycle of this noble eau-de-vie. Under the leadership of a young generation of women at the head of Gascony’s Armagnac houses, Armagnac is regaining a new vitality !

How has it changed ?

In 1991, a ministerial report relegated women to menial tasks, maintaining that Armagnac from start to finish is principally a man’s world.  However, for the last few years, it seems that Armagnac’s distinctive signs of  berets and  masculinity are being eroded.

As in the case of national viticulture, Armagnac is now more and more associated with women and today nearly 20% of winery managers are female. This generation of women running these often family estates, are opening new doors and bringing  new dynamism.

The first lady ambassador of Armagnac

Historically however, from the eighteeth century, women played a significant role in the promotion of Armagnac. The Marquise de Livry’s life and commitment to the service of the Gascon eau-de-vie bears testament to this.  In 1762, Marie-Christine de Maniban, the Marquis de Livry’s wife, then manager of Louis XV’s hotel, took over the family estate and made the most of his prestigious wedding to introduce Armagnac to the Royal Court.  Though exiled to Versailles, she didn’t miss the opportunity to return to her roots during the summer months to taste the Gers ‘dolce vita’.  At the same time, these journeys back and forth to the country meant that she could keep a watchful eye over the management of the family’s vineyards and the chateau’s production.

If today, Armagnac has been able to conquer countries furthest from its birthplace of Gascony, and be present around the world, it surely owes much to the Marquise of Livry who knew how to give it the boost it needed to make that long journey so far from home.   

A feminine Armagnac ?

Despite the centuries-old history that binds Armagnac to women, some still notice a lack of  interest in respect of women and in this way, it is their ambition to help them discover it. To these ends, several estates strive to make lighter, rounder, more aromatic Armagnacs that they feel appeal more to the female palate.   However, science confirms that there is no difference between a woman’s tastebuds and a man’s : studies show that it is impossible to know, by tasting an alcohol if it has been made by a man or a woman, nor if one pleases more than another.

Man or woman, the producer always makes a wine in his or her own image. Men or women that taste an Armagnac quite simply judge their own preferences.