Cognacs : the Americans give their verdict
27 septembre 2005
Three prestigious American sommeliers have judged cognacs for the review Bordeaux-New York (50,000 copies distributed to American importers) with two special mentions for Jacques Denis, a wine grower at Saint-Preuil, who runs "La Cognathèque".

Pernod-Ricard to distribute Stolichnaya vodka
27 septembre 2005
Pernod-Ricard has just signed an agreement with the Russian company SPI for the distribution rights for Stolichnaya vodka until the end of 2010. In another move, Lionel Breton, CEO of Martell cognac, is to take charge of the Martell-Mumm subsidiary, the new "cognac and champagne" branch (including Martell, Bisquit and Renault cognacs and Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes) of the Pernod-Ricard group. The group has reported six month turnover of 1.65 billion euros (+8.8%) and operating profits of 287 million (+7.9%)

An exceptional cognac from Frapin
20 septembre 2005
The Frapin cognac house has launched a "1888" vintage at 4,400 euros per bottle. The carafe is in crystal with a 24 carat gold stopper. It contains eaux-de vie dating from 1870.

Total outputs of cognac in 2005
20 septembre 2005
Just as the harvest began on 19 September, it was announced that total outputs of cognac in 2005 (from 1/08/04 to 31/07/05) represented about 450,000 hectoliters (86.5% in cognac and 13.5% in pineau, Grand Marnier and other liqueurs).

Wine growers ... and shareholders
20 septembre 2005
The 1,255 winegrowers of the Alliance Fine Champagne, the cooperative which supplies Rémy-Cointreau, have decided to become shareholders in the group. They have injected 42 million euros into the holding and now hold 5% of the capital.

Rémy-Martin dons the gloves
20 septembre 2005
Rémy-Martin has agreed a partnership deal with the boxer and entrepreneur Oscar de la Hoya.

Hennessy invites the DJs
20 septembre 2005
The Hennessy cognac house invited American consumers and radio DJs to visit the Cognac region and discover its products on 17 and 18 September.

D Day for harvest on 19 September
20 septembre 2005
The grape harvest begins in the Cognac area on 19 September, two weeks ahead of schedule. The yield should be somewhere between 120 and 140 hectoliters per hectare.

Hennessy and the heritage open days
13 septembre 2005
The Cognac firm Hennessy will be opening its château de Bagnolet to the public on September 17 and 18 as part of the heritage open days. Works by Diderot and Alembert, which are kept in the castle library, will be on view to the public. The chai du fondateur (the founder’s storehouse), on the banks of the Charente in Cognac, will also be open.

Cognac harvest festival
13 septembre 2005
The Cognac harvest festival will take place on 17 and 18 September at the place Jean-Monnet. The programme includes promotional events, tastings and sales of regional products.