Succession in sight at the JAAC
5 juillet 2007
Christophe Monnet, the president of the JAAC young farmers’ association, is preparing to stand down. The name of Jérôme Elis, a winegrower aged 23 from St-Fort-sur-le-Né (Charente), is being repeatedly mentioned as his successor.

Cognac week
5 juillet 2007
The Semaine du cognac is taking place from 5 to 12 July : 600 establishments ( bars, hotels, etc. ) in the region will be promoting cognac. This regional event costs the Bnic 110,000 euros.

BNIC certification
3 juillet 2007
On 13 June the BNIC inter professional trade organization was awarded ISO 9001 v.2000 certification which guarantees the excellence of its total quality control.

Letters against land allocation
3 juillet 2007
On 3 July, the closing date for opposition proceedings against the modification of the technical specifications (the equivalent of a public inquiry), the winegrowers and distillers’ union (SVBC) delivered eleven letters to the INAO, explaining several reasons for opposing the implementation of land allocation. The SVBC is calling on winegrowers to come and sign these letters outside the INAO in Châteaubernard (Charente).

Smaller cognac harvest in 2007 ?
2 juillet 2007
The BNIC viticultural station has indicated that the 2007 harvest may be a bit low : « there are fewer bunches this year than in 2006 (-10%) and compared to the average over the last ten years » reports Luc Lurton, the director of the viticultural station.

« Carnet des saveurs en Cognac » updated
2 juillet 2007
Alexandre Le Boulc’h, a journalist at the Charente Libre, has just reissued his book « Carnet des saveurs en Cognac », produced in collaboration with Thierry Verrat, the Michelin-starred chef of the La Ribaudière restaurant (Bourg-Charente, in the Charente). The book presents various local producers.

Cognac tops exports
29 juin 2007
According to Insee, business in the Charente is boosted by cognac, exports of which rose by 27.6% last year.

Martell : new cellar master
29 juin 2007
Frédéric Ardouin is the new cellar master at Martell.

Rémy-Martin increases quantities
29 juin 2007
During a meeting of the members of the alliance Fine Champagne, a cooperative of suppliers to Rémy-Martin (1180 members), the cognac house has revealed that it is entering into a new three year contract (2007-08-09) to buy 22% more in quantity.

L&L remains in administration
28 juin 2007
L&l (cognac based cocktails) will be run by a court-appointed administrator until September. The Kobrand group, the majority shareholder in the company, has accused the CEO J.-P. Lafragette of embezzlement.