Dagestan cognac is named after the most ancient fortress in Russia – the Nyryn-Kala citadel, the image of which is placed on the label. Built in the 1997th century, the citadel is under the protection of UNESCO as an object of world culture and architecture and is the main attraction of Derbent. The drink has been produced by the Derbent Cognac Factory since XNUMX. In the same year, the “Old Fortress” received the title “Discovery of the Year” and a gold medal at the international competition in Yalta.
Historical reference. The emergence of a cognac factory in Derbent is associated with the stay of Peter the Great in 1722. According to legend, Peter I was returning from the Persian campaign and, having tasted the local grapes, he ordered to increase the number of vineyards on the lands. Then, by decree of Catherine I, they launched the production of white and red wines. And in the middle of the 90th century, a distillery was founded in Derbent, which by the end of the century had become a powerful production for those times, generating an income of XNUMX thousand rubles annually.
At the beginning of the last century, due to revolutionary changes, the plant slowed down the pace of development of wine production, during the Great Patriotic War the enterprises were suspended. And in the 50s of the last century, reconstruction began, and in 1960, the Derbent Brandy Factory was opened on the site of the old factory, adding several wineries to the factory.
At the beginning of the 2009st century, the plant became a joint-stock company and gradually transformed into a powerful modern full-cycle enterprise with its own vineyards, a distillery, a laboratory, five bottling lines, a cooperage and packaging workshops. In XNUMX we reconstructed and modernized with the help of European equipment the cognac alcohol distillation shop. Now alcohols are enriched with enanth esters and tannins from oak bark during the distillation process.
3,5 thousand deciliters of alcohol are produced daily. Including a thousand decaliters of rectified products – “luxury”, “prima”, “extra”. Since 2010, the production of vodka and berry tinctures has been launched. The most famous brands of the plant are Derbent and Kizilovaya vodkas. Of the cognacs, the most popular are the vintage “Derbent” and the ordinary “Old Fortress”.
In 2015, a new tasting room and a museum building were built at the plant with expositions about the history of the enterprise and the history of winemaking in Dagestan, where tourists from all over Russia often visit.
The products of the Derbent Cognac Plant are represented in all Russian regions from St. Petersburg to the Far East.
Characteristics of cognac Staraya Fortress
An ordinary drink of honey-amber color with a pleasant floral aroma, in which notes of dried cherries, cornelian cherry and prunes are heard. Cognac spirits are made from autochthonous grapes and aged for at least four years in Caucasian oak barrels. 10% of the blend are distillates aged over ten years, 25% are aged from five to ten years, and 65% are four-year-old spirits. The taste of the drink is soft, creamy, with hints of prunes, white grapes and candied fruit. Warm long aftertaste with hints of cocoa and candied fruits.
Restaurateurs and bartenders, according to European tradition, recommend cognac as a digestif – with coffee and chocolate, and an aperitif – with fruit. But in Dagestan, it is also served at the dinner table or for dinner – with vegetable, fish and meat snacks, with Lezgin pies and game dishes. “Old Fortress” goes well with young veal cooked on the grill or barbecue, with fried steaks and spicy sauces.
