Opening Doors At Hotel Chais Monnet

Cognac would never have become Cognac without the Charente River. Grape-growers needed the river to transport their wine to market through the port of La Rochelle. Later, distillers used it to receive equipment from the Netherlands to turn the grapes into Cognac, and to ship the finished bottles around the world. Today the Charente is no longer a superhighway for local commerce, but there is no better way to get in touch with the history of Cognac country than by taking a cruise in a gabarre, or river barge, past the towns and villages that grew up during Cognac's heyday. Kader and his colleagues can arrange it, along with a picnic lunch and admission to sites that normally are closed to the public.

Although four major global enterprises control around 80 percent of the world market for Cognac, there are still hundreds of independent producers who carry on the tradition started by their ancestors. One of Kader's first tasks at Hôtel Chais Monnet was to establish contact with as many local Cognac producers as possible to see if they would be willing to host hotel guests for tours and tastings. "The response was fantastic," he says. As a result, if guests taste a Cognac they like among the more than 400 varieties on offer in the hotel’s bar, Le 1838, chances are Kader can arrange a visit to the producer. "Cognac makers are passionate about their work," he says."

The French love a good road trip, especially in a car full of character that makes heads turn as you drive by. Hôtel Chais Monnet has three such cars–a 1954 Jaguar sedan and two Citroen 2CVs—that it makes available to guests for self-guided excursions. (Anyone whose driving skills do not include mastery of a dashboard-mounted stick shift can ask a member of the hotel staff to chauffeur them.) "The owner of the hotel loves cars, and he thought it would be something special, something very French, to offer our guests," Kader says. And as long as you're out, finish the day with dinner out. Locals recommend the Bistro de Claude (35 Rue Grande; +33-5-45-82-60-32) in Cognac; start with the cold oysters with hot sausages, followed by the catch of the day.

At first glance, life in Cognac country seems quiet, but the area is a hive of entrepreneurial activity. In Bourg Charente, Féret Parfumeur is a family-run firm that has been making beauty products out of natural ingredients and marketing them to fashionable women since 1878. In Bouteville, a start-up, Compagnie de Bouteville (1 Rue Montmorency, Bouteville; +33-5-45-64-92-76) takes leftover wine from Cognac-making and turns it into award-winning balsamic vinegar sold in La Grande Epicerie in Paris and around the world. Kader and his colleagues are happy to arrange visits to these and other local artisans for hotel guests, who will be warmly welcomed not as tourists but as future friends. "The best experiences here in Cognac are the ones that revolve around meeting people," Kader says.

The Charentais region of southwestern France sets a nice table. Known for Limousin beef, Poitou-Charentes lamb, and Chalais veal, the region also benefits from proximity to the oyster beds of Oléron and the duck farms of the Périgord. The open-air markets in Cognac and in the nearby villages of Jarnac and Saintes are feasts for the cook's imagination. Sébastien Broda, the Michelin-starred chef who oversees the restaurants at Hôtel Chais Monnet, relishes the chance to introduce guests to "a culinary voyage of discovery." Guests of the hotel can sign up to accompany Sébastien on a morning trip to a market, followed by a master class in the kitchens preparing lunch to share.