| 28/07/00 |
The concept of Cognac&Cigar is on its downhill
path in the USA while in the Cognac region the number of successful
Cognac&Cigar gatherings are on an increase; CognacCigar in Cognac, in Angouleme and in
La Rochelle, for example. Recently, the Cuban ambassador to France attended a Cognac Cigar
dinner at Richard Coutanceau restaurant in La Rochelle where J.Normandin-Mercier
Cognacs were appreciated with Cuban cigars. In Cognac itself, Hennessy
and Davidoff organized a memorable dinner with not only Cognac and cigars
but fabulous French wines. Unfortunately, a number of small Cognac producers are busily
investing in developing special Cognac products for consumption with cigars. Too little
too late, as we were told by the owner of Bar&Cigar in Oslo. His
customers are more interested in the quality of both products, Cognac and cigars, then in
trying new specially designed Cognacs. |
| 27/07/00 |
Like it or not the world commerce is about brands, big brands. In
the recent study by Interbrand/Citibank they list 75 top billion dollar brands. Coca-Cola
still leads but it is fading. The first French brand is Louis Vuitton, a
member of LVMH that happens to be the parent company of Cognac
Hennessy. Than comes Chanel and Moët&Chandon.
Those brands are placed in 34th, 52nd and 59th places. Team Navarre (see
item 17/07/00)
at Cognac Hennessy is working hard to get onto this list. Once BNIC
gets its vision refocused on generic promotion of Cognac (its wine
heritage, its crus, its region and its uniqueness), we will see a Cognac brand
among the top brands. Because brand is a necessary guide for the product owners and
consumers. Its time for the Cognac industry to accept it and for BNIC to
get behind the industry on a global basis. (FT18/07/00,
Torula News) |
| 26/07/00 |
Le Cap Nell, a friendly brasserie in Rochefort sur
Mer, offers only one Cognac, Ragnaud-Sabourin Grande Champagne
4 years old. It is priced at F12, F15 and F15 for 2 cl with ice cubes, with tonic and
straight respectively. The 4 cl same offerings are priced at F24, F28 and F28. Whisky on
the other hand (see item 20/07/00) is priced at F18, F16, F18 for 2 cl and F25, F22 and F25 for
4 cl respectively. A simple example of why BNIC should stay away from dictating the Cognac
price levels to bars, brasseries and restaurant owners. They know it better! Le Cap Nell is a tribute to Nell Matusier
(1892-1911), a stunning young woman who broke many hearts of lighthouse keepers and
sailors. The present owners Nelly Garnereau and Christophe Berger and chef Gobin offer
simple food in a pleasant setting and a good Cognac. |
| 25/07/00 |
Cognac and
French wines from Bordeaux and Bourgogne were one of the main contributors to the solid
increase in French food stuff exports in May 2000.
Click
here, in French, courtesy of net2one. |
| 24/07/00 |
François Mery had a right idea 3 years ago. He and
his Young Viticulteurs Association created a 4 days showcase for Cognac
in Cognac (Fête du Cognac). The 3rd edition this year, however, begins
to show lack of imagination and heavy handed influence of BNIC. The beach
theme with sand and water reminded us of a much better and by far more professional
promotional theme of Pineau des Charentes. The continuing insistence of
producing print promotional materials (by BNIC) only in French is plainly silly. Less than
9% of Cognac is sold in France, town of Cognac sees many foreign visitors
at this time of the year so why not English, why not Spanish, why not German versions of
the materials that promote Cognac. The hard working François Mery and his colleagues
deserve better guidance and better assistance. We noted presence of Cognac producers like Léopold
Gourmel, Jean Balluet and new products like Jumping VSOP from Rémy
Tourny. The Happy Hour idea of 4 Cognacs (2 cl.) at F30 between 20:00 and 21:00
was very good but you needed to ask for it. |
| 24/07/00 |
RémyCointreau (a parent of Cognac Rémy Martin)
reported 14.2% increase in 2nd quarter 2000. The most important element in their quarter was the 43.3% increase
in sales of their Cognac. The spirits registered 36.2% increase, Champagne registered
30.7% increase and their liqueur group came in with 13.3% increase for the quarter.The
positive results for the Cognac can be attributed to the Rémy
Red buoyant sales in the USA, Rémy Silver solid gains in
Holland, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan and some innovative marketing that is pulling up sales of their VS
and VSOP categories. And yet, stock market investors are not convinced
pushing the shares down
by over 7% since 12/07. Further cost savings and distribution optimization are needed as well as
new products. Some investors are pointing out already that Rémy Red is 2 years old and
Rémy Silver (former Rémy Platinum) is even older. Click here, in French, courtesy of net2one. |
| 20/07/00 |
New tag is being used to identify BNIC (The Cognac Association)
- LECOGNAC - white letters on a black background. It is followed with an
Internet address of a nearly all-in-French web site www.cognac.fr.
Not the most visually appealing tag but a step in the right direction. However, the latest
effort to resurrect the floundering (no consumer recognition, no visibility at the
participating establishments) and misguided (sell Cognac at the same or
lower price than whisky) Les Ambassadeurs du Cognac campaign in the Cognac
region is poor. And the silly lipstick trace is again used in the latest print
ads. At the same time comes the news from Paris; French senior bureaucrats and diplomats
are being send back to school to learn how to cope with new challenges in a more
competitive, globalized world. BNIC should follow the Prime Minister's lead. (IHT12/07/00, Torula News) |
| 19/07/00 |
Softbank, Yahoo, Ryoshoku, Suntory (parent of Cognac
Louis Royer) and Mercian, the last 3 companies are major
beverage groups in Japan, have created e-Shopping!Wine
company that will begin Internet sales of wines in Japan in October.Will the Cognac be
offered as well? (FT13/07/00) |
| 18/07/00 |
Ireland's roaring economy forces government to temporarily cap the prices
of all alcoholic beverages and even some soft drinks. (IHT12/07/00) |
| 18/07/00 |
By selling Pillsbury for $10.5 billion and merging UDV
with Guinness to create £7.2 billion operation with £1.2 billion annual profit, Diageo
is getting ready to bid for Seagram Spirits Group, a parent of Cognac Martell. See our 0713 item. |
| 17/07/00 |
LVMH, a parent of Cognac Hennessy reports strong
results for the first half of the year, 39% growth in the first quarter and 41% in the
second. Cognac Hennessy registered a 16% rise on the strength of VSOP and
XO sales in the USA and Asia, especially in China and Korea. Pure
White has performed very well in Europe. This confirms a general trend for Cognac
sales reported by Torula News 2 weeks ago. The industry, led by Hennessy, Rémy
Martin and Léopold Gourmel (doubling the volume)' strong
results, has an opportunity to re-structure now while the results are good. Michelin,
another French company in another industry has set a precedent in France on re-structuring
while things are going well. For more on LVMH performance click here. |
| 17/07/00 |
Former chef at the Hotel Karina, near Jarnac, has opened L'Auberge
de la Garenne in Cressé, in the Fins Bois cru near Matha.
Simple, regional cooking at its best featuring Cognac Jean Balluet. |
| 17/07/00 |
Early days in Seagram Spirits Group (parent of Cognac Martell)
sale are proving more challenging than many expected. The sale needs to raise at least
$7.5 billion. The hefty tax bill is complicating the sale with only one interested party,
Allied Domecq (parent of Cognac Courvoisier) willing and able to afford
it. Other bidders, among them RemyCointreau (parent of Cognac Rémy Martin),
Bacardi (parent of Chateau du Cognac - Otard, Exshaw and Gaston de Lagrane Cognacs),
Pernod-Ricard (parent of Bisquit and Renault Cognacs),
Diageo and Brown-Forman are interested in selected brands within the Seagram Group. And,
there are private equity groups like Hicks Muse, KKR, CVC and Paribas that are in
negotiations with various industry groups to prepare bids. While Seagram's advisers,
Morgan Stanley and Simpson Thacher are struggling with tax issues, Torula News sources
indicate that AlliedDomecq will win this auction less Cognac Martell which will be sold to
Diageo. Same sources raised the possibility of VivendiUniversal deal unraveling or
requiring significant changes to resolve the tax issue. Many participants in this bidding
believe that the final results will be known by early September with deal consummated
before year end. (FT13/07/00,Torula News) |
| 13/07/00 |
Les Destinées Sentimentales, a French movie taking
place in the Cognac region that was entered in this year's Film Festival
in Cannes, is making a national debut in France this week. It stars Emmanuel Beart,
Isabele Hupert and many Cognac producers. Click here for a
review courtesy of net2one. It is more relevant than Gangstacop, an American movie that
won special price in this year Thriller Film Festival in Cognac. The posters advertising
this movie flooded Paris recently provoking several emails to Torula News, from surprised
foreigners. We quote: "During our recent holidays in Paris, we strolled down Champs
Elysée. We were shocked to see posters of Gangstacop movie with an award associating it
with Cognac." |
| 12/07/00 |
Fight over Havana Club rum exclusive rights in the USA
and the rest of Americas has moved over to the WTO. Will this fight spill over to affect Pernod
Ricard' Bisquit Cohiba Extra rights as well? In the case of
Havana Club, the rights were registered by Cuban government and Pernod Ricard in 183
countries but not in Americas. (IHT04/07/00) |
| 11/07/00 |
Producers of the Pineau des Charentes are opening their
doors to the public, 12 through 14 August from 10:00 to 19:00, offering free tasting and
many other attractions including regional foods. |
| 10/07/00 |
In the town of Saintes they build gabarre in less than 5
months, in the village of St.Simon it took 20 months. Both are on the river available for
tourist cruises at F25 and F35 respectively. And now, City of Cognac is
joining gabarre building with a longest yet. Last year, Torula News covered protracted
efforts of St.Simon, an original gabarre construction village of yesteryear. To put the
record straight, gabarre is a flat bottom cargo river boat that was used for transporting Cognac
barrels to the sea port, in this case La Rochelle, until mid-1920s. It never was
meant to transport people. In search of photo-ops, local politicians keep building gabarre
boats while Martell's unique and original gabarre searches for outdoors location. |
| 07/07/00 |
An American from Oklahoma promotes Cognac and
modern jazz in Stavanger, Norway at his award winning bar Blå Bar and
restaurant Craigs
Kjøkken. His Cognac list includes Jon Bertelsen, Léopold Gourmel,
Brillet, Frapin, Delamain, Gauillon-Painturaud, Ragnaud-Sabourin, Jean Fillioux,
Normandin-Mercier, A.E. Dor among selective Armagnacs and an American brandy from
Germain-Robin (an old Cognac family). |
| 06/07/00 |
The Services de l'Expansion Economique Amérique du Nord,
PEE New York, San Francisco & Ottawa of the French Embassy in the USA offers a regular
newsletter (in French only) on viticulture as related to North American
markets. Click
here for details. |
| 06/07/00 |
While all in the Cognac region wait for the
VivendiUniversal sell of Seagram Spirits Group (a parent of Cognac Martell)
with Allied Domecq (a parent of Cognac Courvoisier) still being the
leading purchaser, other smaller Cognac houses are in various negotiations to consolidate
their positions through local buyouts. The sad and long saga of Unicoop
(H.Mounier), a large Cognac cooperative, is being solved with a L'Oceane
group leading the short list of purchasers. A long awaited rationalization might be on the
way. |
| 05/07/00 |
4th bi-annual Humor and Wine Festival opened last Saturday in
Jonzac. Working with 30 volunteers and a budget of F90,000, Bernard Cellou has managed to
attract over 200 drawings from 29 countries. The winner this year was a French cartoonist,
PIEM. The Festival continues through 24 July and it is definitely worth a visit. In
conjunction with the Festival, a Vin de Pays Charentais competition was held. From the
78 submitted entries, Grappe d'Or (Golden Grape) was won by Gourdet
for Savignon, Lycée Le Renaudin for Chardonnay, François Bureau
for Cuvée Tradition blanc, Geac des Deux Champagnes for Tratillac Rouge,
Plantis des Vallées for Cabernet and Boule et Fils for
Merlot. |
| 05/07/00 |
Drinks.com sells some 120 Cognacs
into Florida, Illinois and California, at present. Among the Cognacs available online are:
Ansac VS, Brillet, Chalfonte, Chateau Montifaud, Courvoisier, Davidoff, Delamain,
Extase (a product of KCP Hardy), Gabiel&Andreu, Godet, Hardy,
Hennessy, Jean Fillioux, A. de Fussigny, Kelt, Landy, Léopold Gourmel, Marcel Ragnaud,
Martell, Meukow, Montaigne, Rémy Martin, Renault and Salignac.
The site offers tasting ratings from www.tastings.com
for some of its products. |
| 04/07/00 |
The Cognac industry experiences increased orders
led by recovering markets in Asia, steady as ever USA and Scandinavia with Norway at the
top. Increased orders from Germany, Baltic Republics and countries like Czech Republic,
Poland and Ukraine add to a positive summer for Cognac. Numerous producers tell Torula
News that Hong Kong and China continues to express interest in purchasing Cognac
and Pineau des Charentes but negotiations are slow with the price being a
stumbling block. |
| 03/06/00 |
As reported here in May, Pineau des Charentes Association
have elected last week Bernard Lacroux of Château Paulet as its
President, to a 3 year term. |
| 03/07/00 |
Siecq, a small village in the center of Fins
Bois, led by the dynamic mayor J-C Favreau once again opened summer season of
entertainment in the Cognac region with a sold out Fête Féodale. The
medieval dinner that concluded with a recreated battle between the Vikings and the locals
from medieval times, was priceless. Following on the last year success, Office de
Tourisme in Cognac continues with Les Noctambulations. Visitors
take part each Thursday (starting 13 July till 31 August) in a nightly, guided walk
through Cognac and experience its history with a few surprises. Towns of Saintes
and Rochefort offer similar activities, as well. Young Cognac producers
association (JAAC) together with BNIC and the City
of Cognac are producing annual Fête
du Cognac 2000 on 21 - 24 July. Always well done and lots of
fun. And, of course, there is our favorite, the 7th Annual Blues Passions Festival between 27 and 30 July,
headlined this year by Ray Charles. There are also Francopholies in La Rochelle and a music festival (with James
Brown and Gloria Gaynor) in Matha. Month of July promises to be full of music, fun and
Cognac. In Jonzac, they have Humor and Wine
Festival where laughter and local wines are order of the day. |
