There's still room to expand the Pierre Ferrand brand, but its capacity to make Grande Champagne cognac tops out at double current sales of around 16, 000 cases a year.

FORBES: Gate Crashers

Mr Raby is mayor of Segonzac, the little town which is at the heart of the Grande Champagne, the stretch of vines that produces unquestionably the greatest cognacs in the world.

ECONOMIST: Spirits

Grapes from five of the six authorized zones in the Cognac region are represented: Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne (in this case champagne means the chalkiness of the soil and not the sparkling wine region), Fins Bois, Bon Bois and Borderies.

FORBES: Camus Unveils 150-Year Anniversary Cognac

Ferrand, whom they bought out, was located in Grande Champagne, the most prestigious of the six cognac districts. (Champagne refers to chalky soil, also found where the sparkling wine of the same name is made.) That lucky happenstance gave Andreu and Gabriel the idea of creating a single-district cognac, similar to the single-malt Scotch brands like Macallan and Laphroaig that revitalized the Scotch business in the 1980s.

FORBES: Gate Crashers