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Torula News

1999 Cognac House Visits Guide and Ratings


Torula News editorial team announces latest Cognac House Tour Visit Guide and Rating for 1999.

Editorial notes: A selection of visits at the first two weeks in May 1999. Although we wished to visit Cognac Houses offering visitors tours without appointments, all asked us to either wait or come back at the proper time. The object was to assess the visits on a non-scientific, purely amateur basis as most tourists would see them. However, the following assessment and comments are based on professional experiences of the retail market for over 30 years. Overall impressions: All tours were generally well organised, informative and worth a visit. However, as was the case last year, once you have seen one, you have seen them all. The marketing executives should get out more. A trip to Disney would not go amiss, as they would experience entertainment and knowledge retail which, although they don’t seem to realise it, is, in our opinion what the tours should be all about. People want to learn something whilst being entertained. What differentiates the brand is not generally made clear and what differentiates the products can be fudged and confusing. They all infer, in their little films that they still lovingly harvest the grapes by hand, which is not true. What is the object of the tour? The cognac houses say that it is a PR exercise, but a great opportunity is wasted to undertake market research. None of them take names and addresses to keep in touch and inform potential customers of new products, special offers and other marketing opportunities to get closer to the customer. No one asked what we thought of the tour, or asked us to fill in a customer survey. Whilst the opportunity to sell produce varies from average to very poor indeed - the opportunity to reinforce the brand with merchandising is dismal and totally wasted. All offer per-set tours consisting of the various geographical areas, which make up the cognac region, the soil conditions, distillation and what makes cognac, cognac. They all show how a barrel is made and the importance of the oak to the ageing process, the angels share and the Charente climate.

*And the winners are:*
	1. Otard
	2. Rémy Martin
	3. Martell

Cognac House

Category ratings

General comments

Overall Rating

Otard The Winner!!! F15 click for details 127 Boulevard Denfert Rochereau, Cognac Phone: 05 45 82 40 00 Daily from 1 April to 30 September (except 1 May) Monday to Friday from 1 October to 31 March (except public holidays). Weekends on request for groups.	General comments: 8/10	Interesting and entertaining	46/60
	Obtaining info: 8/10	Pleasant and helpful
	Cognac History: 8/10	Great atmosphere
	Cognac Production: 8/10	Just enough for me
	Tasting: 8/10	Offered freely and encouraged to taste
	House shop: 6/10	Although, like the others Otard does not merchandise well enough – they do a nice little sales talk and they have T-shirts and other gift items. Show more cognac and more of the other merchandise.

Rémy Martin F25 click for details Merpins, route de Pons (5 km from Cognac) Phone: 05 45 35 76 66 Monday-Saturday from 10 April to 26 September, including holidays. Call to reserve.	General comments: 8/10	Proficient and entertaining	38/60
	Obtaining info: 7/10	Pleasant and helpful
	Cognac History: 6/10	Comprehensive
	Cognac Production: 8/10	Nice little train ride
	Tasting: 5/10	Apparently limited to cognac tonic
	House shop: 4/10	Atmospheric but limited, not touchy feely enough. More merchandise availability and accessibility needed.

Martell Free click for detail Place Édouard Martell, Cognac Phone: 05 45 36 33 33 July to August; Mondays-Fridays from 9:45 to 17. Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 16:15. June and September; Mondays-Fridays: 9:45 to 11 and 14:00 to 17. October to May; Mondays- Thursdays from 9:30, 11, 14:30, 15:45, 17. Fridays: 9:30 & 11:00.	General comments: 6/10	A simplistic and to the point	36/60
	Obtaining info: 6/10	Friendly and plenty of material
	Cognac History: 4/10	Basic with gabare make a difference
	Cognac Production: 6/10	Very basic but need to ask for more details
	Tasting: 9/10	Choice of VSOP, VS and others
	House shop: 5/10	Large, bright, plenty of products

Camus Free click for details 29 rue Marguerite de Navarre, Cognac Phone: 05 45 32 28 28 May to October; Mondays through Fridays: 10 to 12 and 14:30 to 16:30. Off season by appointment	General comments: 8/10	Even after the poor start the guide is very good and rescues the event.	33/60
	Obtaining info: 8/10	Without any real aids, you are given a comprehensive amount of information and when you ask the answer is full and give freely
	Cognac History: 5/10	Did not go into any great detail and could have shown what differentiates them.
	Cognac Production: 5/10	A little disappointing, again missed an opportunity.
	Tasting: 5/10	Was not offered easily.
	House shop: 2/10	There was not one you could call a shop as such.

Hennessy F30 click for details rue de la Richonne Cognac Phone: 05 45 35 72 68 7 days a week 12/03 to 31/12 10:00 - 18:00 June to September 10:00 to 17:00 12 /03 to 31/05, 1/10 to 31/12 Closed on 1 May and 25 December	General comments: 5/10	Friendly, but a little impersonal	29/60
	Obtaining info: 3/10	Only told what they want you to know
	Cognac History: 5/10	Made Hennessy sound like a hero, he was if fact a mercenary
	Cognac Production: 5/10	Comprehensive-but could do with livening up. This score does not take into account of the special tasting which we got by luck rather than design.
	Tasting: 5/10	You are offered a cognac tonic.
	House shop: 6/10	Best of the bunch but not really up to scratch.

Courvoisier Free click for details 2 place du Château 16200 Jarnac Phone:05 45 35 55 55 Daily from May to October (9.30 am to 5.00 pm all day). Other period: call	General comments: 6/10	Personal and friendly	25/60
	Obtaining info: 6/10	Guide willing to ask
	Cognac History: 7/10	Great Napoleon connection was not exploited to the full
	Cognac Production: 4/10	Less available to see that others
	Tasting: 0/10	Not available
	House shop: 2/10	Not really a shop

Thomas Hine et Co.	Visit Tour not available	not rated
Prince Hubert de Polignac	not opened until July 1999	not rated
Renault Bisquit	not opened until July 1999	not rated

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