Grammy-Award Winner and Cognac Connoisseur ‘Barefoot Diva’ Cesaria Evora has Past Away

Cognac Paradis Cesaria Evora

Singer Cesária Evora, nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" because of her propensity to perform without shoes, has died aged 70 this past Saturday 17th December 2011.

Evora started performing Portuguese-creole songs when she was 16 years old in the bars of her hometown, Mindelo. World recognition came later in her life when at the age of 47, in 1988 she released her debut album, La Diva Aux Pieds Nus (The Barefoot Diva), which launched her career as a recording artist.

Evora grew up in poverty in the port city of Mindelo and often refused to wear shoes while performing in support of the homeless and poor women and children of her country.

Her 1995 album, Cesária, was released in more than a dozen countries and brought Evora her first Grammy nomination, leading to a tour of major concert halls around the world and resulting in album sales in the millions.

She later won the "Best World Music Album" Grammy in 2004 for her album Voz D'Amor.

The Grammy-winning singer, who was forced to retire in September due to ill health, passed away in the hospital on her native island of São Vicente in Cape Verde. Cape Verde is a republic made of 10 Islands set off on the west coast of Africa where people speak Portuguese.

Evora was famous for singing blues-influenced music and often recognized  for her interest in the enjoyment of the finest cognacs.

We regretfully say our goodbyes to a Diva.

Source: Photo: Silvio Tanaka

Micro-Spirits, Artisan Spirits, Boutique spirits, Small-Batch Spirits ... The Smaller The Better

Cognac Paradis Artisan Spirits

A great number of people are regaining interest for spirits and distilled products and this is a great thing as I believe with more knowledge and interests in spirits in general, people will naturally converge towards cognac. And once they find out about cognac their interest quickly migrate towards the other brands. What I mean by the other brands, the other 500 brands that constitutes 5% of the volume and that not many people know. In reality, cognac is a market driven by 4 brands controlling 95% of the market in sales volume.

When it comes to Micro-distillation and micro-entrepreneurship and micro-cognac business ... I think they are 100s of smaller brands that would make an interesting case. Perhaps this is not trendy or acceptable yet for Cognac Houses to say they are small or Micro or Artisan etc... Like it is in the Vodka, Gin, Tequila, spirit categories. In fact, everyone can see that the micro-brands when genuine are gaining considerable momentum in the media and consumer markets pretty much everywhere - even it is starting in France. I say even in France because a great number of innovations in the spirits industry comes from France, and Cognac is like the "Silicone Valley" of spirits when it comes to innovativeness, but do not expect much innovation coming from the French consumers. France is the 1st or 2nd largest consumer market depending on year per capita for "cheap" whisky - go figure! As you may know less than 3% of the cognac produced in France is consumed in France. By the way, 99% of this number is consumed by tourists in France. That leaves you with peanuts when trying to sell cognac in France - but they are some success stories, for instance, www.cognac-only.com

We have discussed and presented many lesser known Cognac Houses in "Cognac Paradis" for the past 2 years, there is so much to say that we will continue. However, one should not under evaluate the huge contributions from the large Cognac Houses in keeping cognac alive as a valid spirit in the industry and in consumer minds.

It is a fascinating market which takes more than a passion to follow it also requires a strong stamina and resilience to go through the changes and adjustments.