Torula News March 2000

30/03/00	Registering a slight increase in Armagnac bottles sold in 1999 from 10.3 to 10.4 million, the Armagnac industry continues to innovate and simplify their product laws. The main foreign markets for Armagnac remain; Great Britain with 793,000 bottles, Japan with 439000, Germany with 428000 and the USA with 424000 bottles sold. Exports accounted for about 50% of total production. The industry decided to simplify labeling of its product with just 4 qualities; Armagnac, a blend of less than 5 years old, Vieil Armagnac (Old Armagnac), a blend of more than 6 years old, Millésimes (Vintage), a single year eaux-de-vie, minimum 10 years old. Blanche d'Armagnac (White Armagnac) is a white eaux-de-vie bottled directly from the alambic without anytime in the wooded casks. During the transition period Armagnacs labeled Three Stars (2 years or older), VSOP (5 years or older) and XO and Hors d'Age (10 years or older) continue to be available. (BNIA)
29/03/00	Robert Heymel assisted by his beautiful and able assistant Sabine, have now introduced the highly rated Cognac André Petit in Germany. This further expands their small, high quality Cognac producer list at www.calvados.de
27/03/00	Recently Torula News stopped by Rémy Martin to re-test some of their products, to meet a new man and to find out about their new 'Le Menu au Cognac Fine Champagne'. Their Extra still justifies our 10 out of 10 rating of last year. The new man is Vincent Gere, (no relation to Richard, as far as we know) who after 12 years in Australia making wines for the Rémy Group is spearheading new promotional campaign to teach, to explain and to experience various tastes and aromas to be found in Cognac, especially Rémy's Fine Champagne Cognacs. And he knows a thing or two about the subject from his wine making days. The idea of associating Cognac with a complete menu is not new; Olivier Blanc popularized it in the USA by doing dinners with no wine but Leopold Gourmel' Cognacs, Chinese are known to drink only Cognacs with dinner. None of this should be surprising as Cognac is a product of wine. A simple fact often forgotten by the Cognac industry. Vincent Gere and his team together with Jean Locussol, chef at l'Echassier Restaurant in Cognac have created a very ambitious 'Le Menu au Cognac'. The objective is to complement certain aromas and tastes of, for example, Escalope de Foie Frais and apples with Rémy Martin XO Fine Champagne, fish with taragon and their VSOP, pigeon in truffle sauce with our favorite Extra or a wonderful chocolate dessert with 1738 Cognac. All served Cognacs were chilled in an ice bucket. In general, the idea and this particular menu works, though for our palates Extra with chocolate, 1738 with fish and VSOP with pigeon would have been better. The concept raises, however, a number of issues. To acquire new consumers, the industry must appeal to a far broader spectrum; geographically, culturally and economically than ever before. Thus beginning at the top is in itself limiting. A favorite meal at Torula News is steak tartar mixed with Cognac only, touch of salt and pepper. We think that chefs like Wolfgang Puck or Jean-Georges Vongerichten can significantly contribute in creating Rémy Starter (build around hamburger/chicken), Rémy Challenge (build around fish/pork) and Rémy Gourmet (Le Menu au Cognac Fine Champagne) menus where the Cognac is the only drink. They have history of doing pizzas, hamburgers as well as exquisite French, Thai and Italian menus. The idea must equally work in Cognac region as in Moscow, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires, London, Oslo, Tokyo, Taipei or Sydney. With several new products about to come to the market, Rémy Martin is on the way to capitalize on the recent success of Rémy Red and the right idea of food and Fine Champagne co-existing on the menu.
27/03/00	For the past week, a regional newspaper Sud-Ouest had run special, daily reports on the City of Cognac and, of course, on the Cognac industry. Starting with a selection of Ambassadeurs du Cognac (Torula News have advocated creation of such a group for the past 2 years); Gérard Allemandou of La Cagouille Restaurant in Paris, Dominique Bouchet, executive chef at Hotel Crillon in Paris and owner of the Moulin de Marcouze Hotel Restaurant in the region, and Gilbert Scatena, a barman at Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris, adding variety of interviews with personalities of the region (from Christophe Navarre of Hennessy, Patrick Tesseron of Ecomusée to Francine Forgeron of Cognac Forgeron). The shock interview was published on Monday, 20/03. In it, the Director of Communication at the BNIC (The Cognac Association) responded to the question of Cognac sales in Japan: "8 years after the beginning of crisis in Asia, Japanese stopped drinking Cognac. There is no problem with taste. They continue to love Cognac. They just do not have money to buy it." The analysis is wrong as the Japanese market in the 1999 was one of the largest buyer of luxury goods and Cognac sales are showing small recovery recently. For the spokesperson of the BNIC to issue such naive, un-diplomatic and inaccurate comments is strange and should not be acceptable to the Cognac industry. Our correspondent in Tokyo said: "Statements like that are not very helpful. We continue to buy many luxury items. As far as our drinking habits go, it is fair to say that many Japanese buy more wines than spirits, today. But to suggest that we do not buy Cognac because we have no money is impolite and wrong." Not much was said during that week about quality of the product, one of the most critical issues facing the industry. So, it was not surprising that Torula News found bottles of VSOP on the shelves of Leclerc (large supermarket) in Cognac that were improperly filtered. We talked to the producer who confirmed making a mistake. That, of course, raises an issue where was BNIC and its Quality Committee? It appears, nowhere or too busy with the Thriller Film Festival. Torula News has learned that the Communication Committee of the BNIC has limited their promotion activities for this Film Festival to a 200 km radius of the City of Cognac. In any ABC of marketing they teach a different story! And finally, it was the week that the region of Cognac began seeing the new poster promoting Le Cognac, creation of BNIC. A poster that has no message other than drink it in a whisky tumbler with ice and hope that the girl will leave her lipstick imprint on the glass. Boring, irrelevant, reminding us of the worst ads in the '70s. The black and white tag 'Le Cognac' is clearly out of place.If it suppose to bring an Internet association to mind than it missed it completely. We have learned that some of the Cognac Houses have refused to agree to this poster. Johnnie Walker (see their latest and fabulous commercial) keeps marching to the cash register. The Cognac industry continues to avoid uncomfortable decisions and radical reforms to the detriment of their own business. Why? (Sud-Ouest19-25/03/00,Torula News)
23/03/00	Martell is the oldest of the Big Four Cognac Houses. It was founded in 1715 by Jean Martell. Today it belongs to the Seagram Group, a major entertainment and spirits company. Although slipping in total sales into a third place among the Big Four last year, while undergoing change in leadership, there are signs that Cognac Martell is in process of reviving its fortunes. When Torula News visited the company recently there was energy, pride and determination. Led in the region by the "Dynamic Duo" (Jean-Jacques Regnault and Caroline Ricard), they are poised to raise Martell profile among the visitors and locals with many innovative ideas. But, it is when you enter the office of Patrick Raguenaud, the Cellar Master at Martell when you realize that the company is forging full steam with new products. The present range of products has VS (5-7 years old <y.o.>), VSOP Médallion (10-13 y.o.), Noblige (15-18 y.o.) in a new, elegant bottle, Cordon Bleu 25-30 y.o.), XO Supréme (40-45 y.o.), Extra (45-50 y.o.), Classique, L’Or, Création and L’Art de Martell rounding of top of the line. In Duty Free, Martell offers Artys, Napoléon and Odys in addition. All products are blends characterized by Martell typicality that is derived from their Borderies cru base. Resérve de J&F Martell Borderies, after a 1998 introduction in the UK, is being rolled our world-wide. This signals a new series of products being developed at Martell. As we were told: "Martell needs new products for new consumer tastes, to attract new clients." Patrick Raguenaud comes from a distinguished family of viticulteurs and professional tasters. His interests extend beyond standard Maître d’Chais activities. He likes to work and experiment with oak trees, coopers and various aging methods. The distillation process is uniquely Martell’s and was developed by his predecessor, Mr. Chappé. We had an opportunity to taste 36 months old eaux-de-vie from Fins Bois aged in 3 different oak barrels; Tonçais (which is Martell’s choice of oak), Limousin and Jupile (from the region around Le Mans in France). Results were substantially different on the nose and on the palate, all of highest quality. They will go a long way towards producing new products at Martell. When we last year tasted a number of Martell’s products, Cordon Blue scored highest (8/10). It still remains one of our favorites. We can now add tasting results for Création, a fine blend of Grande Champagne, Fins Bois, Borderies and some Petite Champagne which scored 9.5 out of 10. It was all rancio, finesse, roundness and length. But it was L’Art de Martell that stole our palate, a clear 10 out of 10. With a touch less rancio, it allows flowery, fruity aromas and hints of spice to surface more clearly. It is fabulously long and at 60-100 y.o. it is a blend to be cherished. While touring Martell’s Distillerie Gallienne, we spotted an old poster with this text: "Martell Cognac is consumed in noticeably different manners: In England, with soda. In France, straight. In China, with meals, but in Sweden, before. In America, however, anything goes." A touch dated but at the same time, very à propos. Martell maybe down in sales, at the moment, but they are fighting back. (Photos from Martell Cognac Phototheque CD-ROM)
22/03/00	After subtracting equivalent bottles used in production of Pineau des Charentes and products like Grand Manier, total 1999 global sales of Cognac bottles were 112.8 million. 4 top Cognac Houses accounted for 72% of sales. The 1999 Cognac bottles sales by the top 4 Cognac Houses are: 1. Hennessy 34.8 million, 2. Rémy Martin 16.8 million, 3. Martell 15.6 million, 4 Courvoisier 13.2 million. Hennessy has become an undisputed leader with over 30% market share. The other 3 Cognac Houses have now been relegated to a second tier in terms of Cognac sales. Notable change, among the second tier is Rémy Martin moving ahead of Martell. The lesson from those numbers lies in three words: leadership, marketing and quality. (CL21/03/00, Torula News)
22/03/00	The sun was reflecting in the Charente river and the March springtime air was warm when Torula News sat down with Christophe Navarre, President of Hennessy for an annual chat. The man is clearly in charge of a business that he began remaking over the past 2 years. And the results are impressive, as we reported in an item on 16/03. Not only Hennessy contributes positively to its parent, LVMH, but it remains an undisputed leader in the Cognac business with a world-wide market share of about 35%. Christophe Navarre made 3 key observation. First, "We are an open, friendly Cognac house." A great transformation from the old stodgy Hennessy, that is now reflected in new products (i.e. HPW, XO Grande Champagne, Timeless), new colorful packaging (i.e. VS, VSOP) and new marketing campaigns (i.e. ‘’appropriately complex") has taken place. Second, "The transition is over, the real business has started". An important shift in gears, from first to second in less than 2 years, as Hennessy is poised for a world-wide expansion for its products (i.e. HPW introduction in Asia, world-wide roll out of XO Grande Champagne) and, as important, for determined effort to acquire new customers by maintaining product quality and doing what they do best, marketing. The key to new and present customers is moving them up the product chain (using Mercedes analogy, Christophe Navarre applied his personal interest in motor cars to explain the basic marketing principle) . Third, "The core problems of the Cognac industry must be solved, the producers must remain vigilante, the crisis is not over". Products quality, standards and pricing are just some of the items the industry needs to resolve. And then, Christophe Navarre said: "We are the largest contributors in terms of ‘cotisation’ to BNIC. But we have only 1 vote. BNIC must change, this year". We touched on several other items. Cognac Hine, a recent acquisition, where Luc Capabianca, who reports to Christophe Navarre, has a clear mission to develop the brand but keeping it separate. A strategic investment in bringing an Irish whisky product to Japan is paying off as it is a number 1 in the category in Japan. Jimmy, the rage of Caribbean, is staying on the islands as there are no plans to bring it to other markets. Hennessy is working on a large scale Internet strategy along the B2B and B2C ideas clearly impressed by the success of sephora.com. And finally, Torula News couldn’t resist and asked: "Your prediction for Formula One winner this year?" Without missing a beat, he answered: "Ferrari, they got a great engine, this year". And then he added: "When I lived for 2 years in Milan, I often visited Modena, the home of Ferrari.". With a twinkle in his eye remembering his Italian days, Christophe Navarre looked at the Charente river, the sun and returned to the business of Cognac.
21/03/00	After 18 tastings in the Cognac region and 2 abroad in the past 2.5 years, the Cognac Tasting Society has adopted Rixendis of Jarnac as its patron. The 2000 program is now ready, featuring 4 tastings in the Cognac region and 6 in Paris. For program details and who was Rixendis click here.
20/03/00	For the Saint Patrick day, Hennessy celebrated its Irish founder, Richard with Irish music, green colors and the new cocktail "le Hennessy clover" (4 cl Hennessy PureWhite, 1 cl Curaçao Blue, top it off with Orange Juice, sugar the tall glass rim and add ice cubes. Lots of HPW fun.
20/03/00	Oliver Stone is to be the President of the full length movies jury at the Thriller Film Festival in Cognac (6-9 April 2000). A big scoop for the BNIC Communication Department but how will this really help sales of Cognac?
20/03/00	Unicognac is a cooperative of some 500 viticulteurs based in Jonzac. It has its roots in the Cognac and Pineau des Charentes house of Jules Gautret, that was founded in 1847. Unicognac has had a rather checkered history in recent years but the last 2 years, under the watchful eye of its largest shareholder, Goupe L'Oceane, the company has got on the right track. Last year they sold about 1.5 million Cognac and 1 million Pineaux bottles generating a profit of about a million French Francs on a turnover of about 53 million.. Paring down some 40 brand names, concentrating on Cognac and Pineaux, putting Vodka, Scotch, Armagnac and Gin on the back burner and helping to market Vin du Pays Charentais produced by Thalassa, is their new strategy.. Unicognac is about to unveil its "new look", created by Daedalus Design. A very confusing detail in the Unicognac "new look" is a placement of words 'Haute Saintonge' in the address line, between Jonzac and France. Confusing, at least. The flagship product line, Jules Gautret Cognac, will comprise of Selection du Domaine (), VSOP, Cognac 10 years* old and XO. In the Jules Gautret Pineaux range there will be White and Red in 75 cl and 1 liter bottles and Vieux (Old) in 75 cl. When Torula News visited them recently we noticed a new spirit of determination, of pride among its 20 employees. Click here to see their new presentation, a Torula News exclusive.
17/03/00	Cognac industry is again paying attention to the Asian markets with a recent introduction of, for example, Hennessy PureWhite and repackaged Courvoisier VSOP Exclusif into Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southern China zone and Singapore markets. But overall picture in China for Cognac is bleak, at present. We quote The New York Times Service: "Red wine is à la mode in China's increasingly prosperous cities these days ... It has replaced the Cognac that people here downed by the tumblerful a few years ago." (IHT14/03/00).
17/03/00	Brandy de Jerez of Spain sold over 24 million bottles in 1999, rebounding from a slowdown in 1998. Click here for the stats. (Drink International 02/2000)
16/03/00	Hennessy Cognac, part of the LVMH Group, reported operating income growth of 5% with sales rising by 7% for year 1999. Overall picture is of balanced sales world-wide with USA markets clearly compensating slowdown in Japan. In a wide ranging, recent conversation with Torula News, Christophe Navarre, its President said: "Transition at the Hennessy is over. We are aggressively pursuing acquisition of new customers, expanding into new markets." The 1999 results are an evidence that "Navarre doctrine" is working: Plan 2001 is in place, distribution costs are reduced and the new Marketing Director Cor Dubois from BMG Classics in New York has recently arrived in Cognac. Watch for more on our conversation with Hennessy President in the next few days.
15/03/00	At the tongue-in-cheek named D. du Veron Cognac producing property where D stands for Distillerie and du Veron is the name of nearby stream, Christel Churlaud and her husband Christophe created a mini-conglomerate; they produce Borderies Cognacs, they run a B&B at the Château du Mesnac known as "Club Med rural" and more. Their Borderies Cognacs are VS, Napoléon Vieille Réserve, XO Perle d'Or and XO Collection Privilège. Their North American sales (primarily Texas and Ontario) are under the name of Dixie Land Jazz Louis VS, VSOP, Napoleon and XO. A new product, XO 20 years Cigar Blend, is about to be added to their North American product line. All packaging is designed by Christel. And when you buy Asbach Uralt chocolates, you will find D. du Veron eaux-de-vie inside them as well. Early last year we did taste their products and scored them in the range of 7/10 to 10/10. So, this year, Rexendis' Cognac Tasting Society will be at D. du Veron on 26 April what promises to be a quiet an event.
14/03/00	Grand Prix du Roman Noir de Cognac for this year is all set with a Jury (Bernard Rapp, President, Catherine Fruchon, Patrice Carmouze, Marie-Claire Aubert and Benoît Cohen) ready to decide on winners among 2 categories; Grand Prix du Roman Noir Français (French) and Grand Prix du Roman Noir Etranger (Foreign) on 21 March. The Prizes will be awarded 8 April in Cognac. In the meantime, click here for Romans Policier group.
13/03/00	Following trends in other Scandinavian countries Cigar og Bar in Denmark, hosted a dinner event recently which came to a rousing conclusion with Larsen XO Cognac, Grappa Julia and, of course, Cigars.
13/03/00	The Web is now La Toile, mercatique means marketing, un fils de ses oeuvres is a self-made man, jeune-pousse is a start-up, fusionite means merger mania, and the all important stock options are option sur titres. And our all time favorite couriel means email. So why would French government bureaucrats spend time and money devising these ridiculous names while everyone around us speaks the Internet lingo? At the France's Nasdaq called Nouveau Marche, 45 of 115 quoted companies are in Internet or technology businesses. This year, they expect 15 new dot-com or, if you prefer jeaune-pousse companies to be listed. (IHT09/03/00, Torula News)
10/03/00	Following general markets rise TWIX registered an impressive gain of 9.16% this week closing at 103.3 points but still short of this year's record for the week of 4/02/00. Most notable is the continuing poor performance of RémyCointreau stock, a parent of Cognac Rémy Martin drifting downwards to E21. The recent press quotes attributed to Dominique Hediard Dubreuil, President of RémyCointreau Group: "All export zones for Cognac are positive" have not helped their under performing stock. LVMH, a parent of Cognac Hennessy, on the other hand, scored a massive 160% net increase for the year, proving that a well marketed luxury items sell including Cognac Hennessy. (Sud-Ouest07/03/00, IHT10/03/00, Torula News)
09/03/00	Jacques Esteve and his family produce old, quality Cognacs and Pineaux from their Petite Champagne vineyard. This week, while checking on the cleaning up progress after December storm, we stopped by and did some tasting. Très Vieille Réserve de la Famille had a nutty nose, a beautiful wood, spice and almonds combination in the mouth, it was round, long and very well balanced. we gave it 10 out 10. This man's eaux-de-vie dates back to 1970s. Très Vieille Réserve de la Propriété was a touch more subtle, a touch rounder and beautifully nutty on the nose and in the mouth. It was also a bit drier. The base was clearly from the Réserve de la Famille with a small percentage of an older, fifty years or more, eaux-de-vie. We scored it at 8.5 out of 10. And then came the Très Vieille Réserve Ancestrale made by Jacques Esteve's father in 1947. A brilliant eau-de-vie with hints of nuts, almonds, plums, spices and a clearly developing rancio. Superbly balanced, round and very long. We gave it 9.5 out of 10 for one reason only; it is more of woman's eau-de-vie with its pleasant and lingering taste. Quality is evident, product presentation (developed by Linea) is very good, price value is excellent, as well. It is obvious that we will be back. Their Pineaux are next.
09/03/00	This year distillation season in the Cognac region is winding down as many producers have cut down on volumes and some have not distilled at all. The final date, as always, is midnight 31 March. At the same time, work in the vineyards is accelerating; cutting and tying. In our recent walk through the vineyards, we met Anna Pineau. She was tying grapes. She has 43 grand and great-grandchildren and she proudly told us she is 91 years old. We asked: "What do you contribute your strength to?" Without a moment of hesitation she replied: "A dozen of oysters every Sunday and a glass of Cognac daily. And, of course, a regular work in the vineyards." We made a date for next year with Anna.
08/03/00	Cognac consumers in Denmark are about to get Internet exposure at www.cognac.dk
07/03/00	Dominique took over from her father, Sonia from her grandfather, Pierre took over from Michel, François from Jean-Paul, Sebastian from Robert, Bruno from Francis, Patrick and Stephanie from his father, Cyril from Jean-Paul, Nicholas and Frederic from Jens, Charles from Alain and more of the next generation of producers and merchants are taking over. They have ideas, they have languages, they have traveled and they are determined to change Cognac region. The Cognac establishment, which dominates, for example BNIC, is like the country of France that stubbornly resists change (i.e. Jospin-Chirac latest on foreign policy) but the youth in the region and in France is beginning to have its way.
06/03/00	Didier Roy of IREO and his young colleagues did a very good job in organizing "Cognac, Pineau, Wine; promoting the region" conference held in Cognac recently (see our item 18/02). Sadly among some 100 bored students from local agriculture schools there were not a single producer. The most interesting presentations came from the youth of the region; Pierre Forgeron of La Nuit du Cognac and Frank Valente of Maison Blanche. Pierre's success is in working with other young people in the region and creating a very successful promotion for Cognac. Frank's presentation was interesting for its frankness in speaking about politics of Cognac prices. We always knew that when the politicians get into the act of promoting something it can only be an embarrassment. Pierre Hitier mumbling about "Route du Cognac" fell into that category. Presentations from outside of the region were interesting with the Marathon of Medoc being by far the best. And then came the establishment; BNIC for Cognac and the Thriller Film Festival (for the 18th time!). Pineau and Vin du Pays Charentais Associations each creating new, if only regional promotion activities for their products. Regretfully among all of the presentations, the Distillers Association (Bouilleurs de Cru) were a bit ignored by the moderator and the audience. A sad story as they do great job! All in all, the youth of the region is on the offensive trying to show what can be done with a bit of imagination and putting the politics on the side.
03/03/00	Cognac Cigar Club organized by Gérard Haustraete that meets first Tuesday each month, is off to a great start with Maya Selva cigars and the region's own Cindy Crawford, cigar smoking Béatrice Cointreau of Cognac Frapin at the newly redecorated, one-Michelin star Restaurant La Ribaudière in Bourg-Charente.
03/03/00	A two track mind at the BNIC has nothing to do with sales of Cognac. One is, of course, their preoccupation with the Thriller Film Festival in Cognac and the other is an obsessive zeal of its Executive Director in hunting for counterfeited Cognac or mislabeled product. Why is it that it is always easier to look at products outside of Cognac region even though many were created by the locals or are distributed by French companies. Among the countries of interest are Argentina, Armenia, Uruguay, Brazil and Russia. Part of the problem lies with BNIC for not having a registry of Cognac names and labels. Once producer or merchant registers the name and the label, it receives confirming code that must be present on the product bottle (like the EMB, a producer code, that unfortunately is showing its absence, again). BNIC educates the public on the subject and although not a 100% guarantee, it will go further along that the current hit-and-run proposition. It will also avoid mislabeling like the recent 5 year old Cognac called Reserve 1802 produced by Unicognac for a merchant outside the Cognac region. When Torula News broke the story on Glenmorangie Cognac Matured Malt (see 1/02, 10/02 and 24/02 items), we and many in the industry thought it is a positive endorsement of Cognac, a good marketing angle for the product. BNIC should fight counterfeiters but it should accept cultural differences like word coñac in Spanish on some South American labels and concentrate on promoting the product.
02/03/00	Top 20 countries in 1999 for Cognac sales in equivalent of bottles as reported by the BNIC.
01/03/00	The equivalent of 134,4 million Cognac bottles were sold in 1999 world-wide for a total value of about US$1,2 billion. That is, indeed, a very good news on the surface, even though it was 200,000 bottles less than in 1998 and only 112,5 million of bottles labeled as Cognac. The big surprise was 9.2 million bottles sold in France, an increase of 14.5% or 12.5% if you exclude sales in bulk. This may mean that the BNIC promotions might actually be working; Cognac Tonic, Cognac on ice in France. Europe bought 72 million bottles, Americas bought 38,3 million and Asia 23,3 million bottles. Cognac sales in the USA increased a meager 4.2% and dropped significantly in Mexico and Canada. Among the European countries, Switzerland and Norway (world's 9nth market) registered solid gains of 45% and 38,3% respectively. Asian market showed a steady recovery with the exception of its prime market, Japan. Sales in Japan dropped 32.1%. The 1999 statistics are alarming for two reasons. One, in the booming economies of Europe and the USA, Cognac did not do too well. In the recovering economies of Asia, Cognac sales look good on a percentage basis but not when actually looked at number of bottles sold. And Japan, the single most important economy in Asia, basically stopped buying Cognac. Two, the overwhelming majority of the Cognac bottles sold were of *, VS, VSOP and Long Drink** qualities produced by top 4-6 Cognac houses. The long anticipated move towards higher qualities and higher margins is not happening. Neither the Cognac industry nor BNIC should be proud of those statistics. There is much more to do! When the world economy is in an overdrive, sales of luxury products like Cognac should be exploding. Even the local press, got it wrong. The USA does not yet drink Cognac based long drinks (Cognac Coke is popular among Americans who are at the bottom of the economic scale), no one refers to yuppies anymore - it is a new economy driven by new wealth (see NASDAQ) that consumes luxury, top of the line products (see USA deficit). (Sud-Ouest26/02/99,Torula News)
01/03/00	In 1995, the World Federation of the Bacchic Fraternities (F.I.C.B.) appointed the Brotherhood of Franc-Pineau to host the 37th World Congress. It will take place from 4th to the 9th of May, 2000 in the Cognac region, the birthplace of Pineau des Charentes. The very ambitious program that includes visits to Cognac and Pineau producers, products tasting and many cultural and social activities was organized by the Comite National du Pineau des Charentes under the direction of its young and dynamic director, Christophe Thomas. For further information contact: Confrerie du Franc Pineau, phone: +33(0)5 45 32 09 27, Fax: +33 (0)5 45 35 42 25
01/03/00	The Netherlands is a small but very pretty country of friendly people and great business acumen. Recently, Torula News visited Amsterdam, opening our Year2000 Country Visits in search of Cognac, Pineau and Armagnac. Last year we did Norway, USA (East Coast), Argentina and Uruguay. Here is what we found in Amsterdam. They like Cognac and there is plenty available. In almost all stores that we visited Cognac is placed next to or in between single malt whiskies. In the most prestigious shop (Chateau P.C. Hooft) Cognac had its own space, both on the shelves and in the shop window (it was dominated by Hennessy Timeless). The shops that we visited and talked to the owners and sellers can be divided into 2 groups; one that sell lower qualities like VS, VSOP, Napoleon and cheap XO like Dupont Grande Fine Champagne (at about F180). In those shops the owners claim Cognacs from Rémy Martin sold most including Rémy Silver (Dare the Unknown - Vodka&Cognac mix). The second group of stores caters to higher qualities with an impressive inventories on display. Here the biggest sellers were the products of Frapin. Everyone we met in the stores knew their products, knew the Cognac industry and was proud of selling the product. Almost all said the same: "If we just had a bit of generic Cognac advertising linking it to wine, it would help". The brands we found were Hennessy (all but Pure White) Hine, Davidoff, Martell, Rémy Martin, Bisquit (VSOP only), Courvoisier, Camus, Otard VS and next to it, strangely Gaston de la Grange VS, Prince Hubert de Polignac, Frapin, Tiffon (VSOP only), A. Hardy (Red Corner VS only), Chabasse (VSOP), Fransac (la Maison), Brugerolle, Menard, Château Montifaud (full product line at one shop was available including their Vieux Pineau des Charentes), Raymond Ragnaud, Mainier (Lalique Decanter only), Pellisson (Extra only), Delamain, Prunier (20 Y.O. only), Dumourier, Grands Chais de France (Jardinal VS and Comte Frères VSOP), Roullet, Ragnaud-Sabourin, Malesan (XO from Wiliam Piters), Louis Royer. There were some surprises as well, for example, Comte d'Artim VS, VSOP, XO from Distillerie de Matha, Paul Monier from Chassor in Jarnac, Joseph Guy having brisk sales as we visited. Many shops give promotion handouts dominated by wine and whiskies ads. We found not a one ad for Cognac in those promotions. Hennessy has an impressive brochure on Single Distillery products in Dutch while Frapin gives a way a brochure in French (most Dutch speak English rather than French!). All in all, Holland is not a big market but a steady one that drinks Cognac.
01/03/00	Winners from the Salon Internationale de l'Agriculture in Paris 27/02 - 5/03/00. A ten days of the best in French animals, agriculture and, of course, product tastings.
01/03/00	H. Mounier, a merchant that produces Cognac Prince Hubert de Polignac, Furio and Pineau des Charentes has fallen in love with vodka. It sold 2 million bottles in the USA alone in 1999, making it their fifth largest product. With gin and tequila in their product line as well, H. Mounier, after very difficult past few years, finally showed profit of slightly over US$1 million on a turnover of about US$28.3 million. Are they showing other Cognac producers how to diversify? (Sud-Ouest28/02/00, Torula News)
01/03/00	The 1999 sales statistics of Pineau des Charentes confirm the general trend for the past 10 years, small but steady year-to-date increases. The product is primarily sold in France with Belgium, Canada and Luxembourg being the leading importing countries. And yet, there is a significant consumer interest in the USA, Germany and Scandinavia where the product sells in small quantities. Somehow producers and the customers have not yet connected.
01/03/00	During the current Salon Internationale de l'Agriculture in Paris (27/02 - 5/03/00) some 60 Cognac products were on offer at the Cognac Tower Bar in addition to the stands of Cognac producers like Guy Lheraud, Chateau Guynot, JP Tesseron, Le Clos de la Groie, Beagaud Festiveaud, Jousseaume, H. Begey, Maison Guerbe, Pierre Begaud and Robert Pouilloux. Young Viticulteurs Association members with assistance from the BNIC staff were selling Cognac Tonic at F15 a glass with success. (Sud-Ouest29/02/00,Torula News)
01/03/00	Diageo, plc, the world's largest liquor company reported first half profit increase of 3.5% with sales increasing a solid 7%. The key to those results was a strong performance among its liquors. Diageo increased its spending on marketing its nine biggest liquor brands, a strategy that has paid off with rising volume sales. A strategy lesson for Cognac industry? (IHT25/02/00)

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