But in the late 1800s, a phylloxera epidemic devastated the French grapes used to make cognac, making the spirit incredibly hard to find.

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As the area was getting back on its feet after the Revolution and both Napoleons, phylloxera wiped out most of the vineyards.

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Nor was anyone in the Valley prepared for the infestation of phylloxera, a tiny louse that preys on the roots of grapevines, which devastated European viticulture in the 19th century.

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On a small plot it takes a lot of expensive labor to keep at bay pests like phylloxera and the Japanese beetle, and afflictions like Pierce's disease that destroy vine yields.

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