Fine (brandy)

In the field of oenology, the French term fine identifies and refers to a brandy that is distilled from wine, as opposed to marc, which is a brandy that is distilled from pomace, the solid remains of grapes after pressing for juice.^[1]

In France, fine production often falls under Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. For example:

• Cognac
• Armagnac
• Fine Bordeaux^[2]
• Fine de Bourgogne^[3]
• Fine du Bugey^[4]
• Fine Figures^[5]

In popular culture

In the works of Ernest Hemingway, the characters speak of their gastronomic adventures in drinking and eating:

In the novel The Sun Also Rises (1926):

• "We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee. . . ."

and:

• "After the coffee and a fine we got the bill, chalked up, the same as ever, on a slate. . . ."

In the spy movie Goldfinger (1964), in an after-dinner scene with the head of the Bank of England and M:

• James Bond is offered a second pouring of what his host, Col. Smithers, describes as a "rather disappointing brandy." Unclear on his host's meaning, M asks Col. Smithers "What's wrong with it?", and Bond replies, "I'd say it's a thirty-year-old fine, indifferently blended . . . with an overdose of bon bois."

Bond's oenological reference, bon bois, is to a potent brandy from a specific Cognac-producing region in the south-west France.