WHAT SHOULD BE COGNAC NIGHT?

The Liquor.com website caught my attention today as they mentioned that: "Irish whisky drinkers have St. Patrick’s Day and bourbon drinkers have the Kentucky Derby, but what do Scotch drinkers have? Burns Night. The holiday, which is tonight, celebrates the birth of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, back in 1759. Honor the man by trying one of these new single malts."

When I lived in Scotland I was lucky enough to acquire a book published in the mid-1800s from Robert Burns and signed in the 1990s by a descendant of Burns. So I know exactly what they are talking about.

Robert Burns and Scotch

Then, I thought what would be cognac day? Or rather cognac night?

Cognac has the blues festival. Or they have the cognac festival. But these are really more local events and public festivals. They have the Summit and la Part des Anges ... but these are more industry events and celebrations.

So the equivalent of Robert Burns in Cognac might be Odette Comandon who was a popular actress and story teller from the 50s to the 80s, and become director of the Académie de Saintonge. She exemplify, the Cognac  and regional identity as she was a perfect speaker of the local language called 'patois saintongeais', that is the local dialects.

Or is it Francois Mitterrand, enigmatic President of France from 1981 to 1995. I think this personality might be too politically loaded and therefore not so universal.

Perhaps, Francois 1er (1494 – 1547), born in the city of Cognac and King of France (1515-1547). I think he is a significant person in the history of cognac, but perhaps Francois 1er is too emblematic of the history of the city of Cognac, and cognac cannot be summarized by something to do with the city of Cognac only. In other words, perhaps Francois 1er is not inclusive enough.

What about Bastille Day? Really, it is too generic.

Should cognac night be in winter?

Most people think cognac is a winter drink. This is wrong. Try this. Ginger ale, ice cubes and a little drop of VS cognac and voila, the ultimate summer quencher. So cognac night would not have to be in winter.

If anybody has any suggestions please just comment as I am out of ideas.

Source: Liquor.com

Source Photo: Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and Wikipedia Commons

5 SECRETS EVERY COGNAC DRINKER SHOULD KNOW FROM LIQUOR.COM

With more than 150 bottlings to choose from, including a variety of vintage spirits dating back to the early 20th century, the Brandy Library is the best place to enjoy cognac in New York and possibly the whole country says Liquor.com. The owner,  Flavien Desoblin, opened in 2004, and he is now recognized for his contribution in the cognac market.

Liquor.com

Liquor.com interviewed Flavien about 'how to' cognac. I agree with much of these perspectives perhaps some day I will comment on where I disagree but nothing too big although details in cognac are often the most important things.

If It’s Young, Mix It:
For cocktails, Desoblin advises that you pour a younger spirit like Courvoisier VS, Frapin VS or Leopold Gourmel Premieres Saveurs. Citrus, nutty and floral flavors play well with cognac, so try fixing classics such as the Sidecar and French Connection. Also, “a young cognac with ginger ale on ice works wonders when it’s hot,” Desoblin says. We recommend his Jarnac Ginger, a brandy-based spin on the Dark 'n Stormy.

If It’s Old, Drink It Straight:
“As soon as there is any depth or complexity with a cognac,” Desoblin says, “it should not be used in cocktails.” Save those pricey XO and hors d’age spirits for sipping. Aged brandies have very delicate and subtle notes, and he suggests having them without mixers, food or even cigars. Desoblin prefers his cognac “after dinner with little distraction. Prerequisites: no stress, anger or loud people around!”

No Water, No Ice:
“Water tends to make cognac too bland, unless you deal with a cask-strength bottling, which is rare,” Desoblin says, “and ice just kills it.” In general, serve the spirit neat, at room temperature or slightly cooler. The traditional snifter, with its wide, balloon-shaped bottom and narrow top, is the ideal vessel, Desoblin says: “It allows for swirling and therefore the liberation of aromatic compounds.”

Source: Liquor.com

HENNESSY COGNAC IS PART OF LVMH: LIST OF 62 LVMH BRANDS

You are probably aware of what the acronym LVMH stands for?

Yes, you are correct Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. LVMH is the largest luxury group in the world with records sales (+/- $30 billion) and profits (+/- $5 billion) in 2012, and 62 luxury brands in its portfolio.

LVMH 5 Champagnes

10 Cane Rum
Acqua di Parma
Belvedere
BeneFit Cosmetics
Berluti
Bodega Chandon Argentina
Bon Marche Rive Gauche
Bulgari
Cape Mentelle
Celine
Chateau Cheval Blanc
Chateau d’Yquem
Chaumet
Cheval Blanc - Hotels
Cheval des Andes
Christian Dior Parfums
Cloudy Bay
De Beers
DFS
Dom Perignon
Domaine Chandon Australia
Domaine Chandon California
Donna Karan
Edun
Emillo Pucci
Fendi
Fendi Parfums
Fred
Fresh
Givenchy
Givenchy Parfums
Glenmorangie Company
Guerlain
Hennessy
Hublot
Kenzo
Kenzo Parfums
Krug
Le Jardin D’Acclimatation - Activity Park
Les Echos - Publications
Loewe
Loewe Parfums
Louis Vuitton
Make Up For Ever
Marc Jacobs
Mercier
Miami Cruise Line Services
Moet & Chandon
Newton Vineyard
Nowness
Nude
Numanthia
Royal Van Lent - Yachts
Ruinart
Samaritaine
Sephora
Tag Heuer
Terrazas de los Andes
Thomas Pink
Veuve Clicquot
Wenjun
Zenith

LVMH majority of its brands are in the wine & spirits industry with Hennessy being the leading brand. Cognac is alive and kicking!

Source: www.lvmh.com

XAVIER LOUIS VUITTON LAUNCHES WINES IN CHINA

A fifth-generation family member of the Louis Vuitton dynasty has launched a wine in Hong Kong developed specifically to cater to the Asian palate.

Wines Xavier Louis Vuitton

Winemaker Xavier-Louis Vuitton’s XLV, an exclusive private label, was developed with the Asian drinker in mind, a palate that favors fruit-driven notes and softer tannins in red wines, reports industry publication The Drinks 

While XLV has no connection with the Louis Vuitton brand or LVMH, the family connection and name recognition is sure to sway consumers in brand-obsessed Hong Kong, notes the story.

Vuitton owns a wine estate near the village of Apt in southern France, which he manages with his son Quentin-Louis who acts as cellar master.

Only the Ventoux wine is made from Vuitton’s estate grapes, while others are made with grapes from the Bordeaux, Rhone, and Champagne regions.

The XLV brand is available through Hong Kong-based online retailer yeswine.com, with prices ranging from HK $360 (€36) for the XLV Ventoux 2010, to HK $2,450 for the XLV Pauillac 2007 or €242.

While Xavier-Louis may be developing a wine made with French grapes for Chinese drinkers, another brand within the LVMH family Moet Hennessy has set its sights on China as a wine-producing nation in its own right, snapping up estates in Shangri-La county in Yunnan Province.

Similarly, Chateau Lafite Rothschild has also begun work on a vineyard in the Penglai region of China’s eastern Shandong province to cater to the country’s growing thirst for premium luxury wines.

China is the fifth largest wine market by volume in the world, having recently knocked Britain into sixth place.

I am a little perplex by this situation. On one hand you cannot stop someone to call their wines their name, but on the other hand you can be sure that a great deal of these wines will be purchased on the basis of the name recognition, and more important on the brand association and confusion with a legitimate product from the LVMH group. This could get messy!

Source: Luxuo.com

Source Photo: www.xlvwine.com

Read more: Louis Vuitton family launches wine for Chinese market | LUXUO Luxury Blog http://www.luxuo.com/wines-spirits/xavier-louis-vuitton-xlv-wines.html#ixzz2EUTHxDz6

WORLD BEST SOMMELIER IN THE WORLD: WHAT IT TAKES TO BECOME ONE?

The 14th Best Sommelier of the World will take place in Japan Tokyo, on 27th, 28th and 29th March 2013.

The candidates and official delegations from over fifty countries are expected in Tokyo on the 26th at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa where the quarter final (27th) and semi-final (28th) are planned.

The final, on the 29th afternoon, will gather the three best candidates and will take place at the International Forum in a room for 5 000 people.

The Gala dinner, for 600 guests, is planned at the Imperial Hotel.

The international official sponsors, supporting this event, are Arc International, Moët & Chandon, San Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, Nespresso, Suntory, Hess Family Estates, the CIVA, ViniPortugal, Wines of Austria, SommelierS International, Entaste and Vinexpo.

Women are increasingly competing and winning the title of best sommelier in their countries.

Veronique Rivest - Best Sommelier

The title of 2012 best sommelier of America, meaning from Argentina to Canada, was won by a woman from Quebec Canada named Véronique Rivest who already won in 2009. Véronique is a wine writer for the newspaper Le Droit and for Radio-Canada in Ottawa, she also write for many food magazines and food TV networks. She will be contesting the world competition for the 3rd time in 2013, '3rd time is a charm' as they say.

However, never a women won Best World Sommelier. This time there is a dozen of women competing among the 50 candidates so it could be a woman world champion.

Most winners are from France, but the world is changing and France has to share its premium wines and top sommeliers with other countries gravitating in status.

List of Past Winners of the World Best Sommelier:
2010 Santiago, Chile: Gerard Basset, United Kingdom
2007 Rhodes, Greece: Andreas Larsson, Sweden
2004 Athens, Greece: Enrico Bernardo, Italy
2000 Montreal, Quebec: Olivier Poussier, France
1998 Vienna Austria: Markus del Monego, Germany
1995 Tokyo, Japan: Shinya Tasaki, Japan
1992 Rio del Janeiro, Brazil: Philippe Faure-Brac, France
1989 Paris, France: Serge Dubs, France
1986 Venice, Italy: Jean-Claude Jambon, France
1983 Brussels, Belgium: Jean-Luc Pouteau,France
1978 Lisbon, Portugal: Guiseppe Vaccarini, Italy
1971 Milan, Italy: Pietro Sattanino, Italy
1969 Brussels, Belgium: Armand Melkonian, France

The competition includes the obvious wine blind tastings, pairings and descriptions, but it also contains customer service evaluations such as opening a magnum of Champagne, and written examinations related to testing knowledge on climate, production, geology, viticulture, history, etc...

Sources:

http://www.veroniquerivest.com
http://www.sommellerie-internationale.com

DISTELL CHINA IS FOCUSING ON COGNAC BISQUIT AND AMARULA FIRST

South African wine and spirits producer Distell has expanded its global presence with the acquisition of a 60% share in fast-growing Chinese liquor distribution firm CJ Wines & Spirits.

Amarula Cream and Cognac Bisquit from South African Spirit Company Distell

CJ Wines & Spirits is based in Zhongshan in the Pearl Valley Delta of Guandong province in southeast China and has operations in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

The new venture - now trading as Distell China - is headed by managing director Rody Wong, who previously ran CJ Wines & Spirits.

Wong has established a strong support base for cognac brand Bisquit that Distell bought in 2009.

"The partnership with Distell creates the opportunity to accelerate the excellent progress achieved thus far with two of the company’s major brands Bisquit and Amarula," Wong said in a statement.

Wong said that Distell China’s focus will be on building the presence of Bisquit in the southern part of the country initially. South China is referred to as the country’s "cognac belt" as this is where most cognac is consumed.

The Far East is now the world's biggest importer of cognac, with turnover exceeding US$1.25-billion.

"CJ’s conversancy with the cognac market is an important asset, and we plan to bring this expertise in marketing to retail and on-consumption channels, to Amarula, which is currently one of the fastest-growing spirits brands worldwide," Wong said.

According to Distell Group managing director Jan Scannell, the plan is to capitalise on the strong market potential of South China and then address markets such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

"The new venture will carry spirits and wines from around the world, and that obviously gives us the scope to explore avenues for some of our other brands," he said.

He added that the priority for Distell China was to focus on Bisquit and Amarula before considering other brands within the company’s portfolio for distribution.

Source: SouthAfrica.info