NEW VS FLASK FROM HENNESSY IN ANIMATION VIDEO

Below is a video animation by www.ncortinhal.com .

http://youtu.be/XJ0wKJnEiYY

Last year,  Nuno Cortinhal created a video animation for the launch of the new Hennessy flasks.

[vimeo 102940515 w=500 h=281]

Hennessy Flasks 2014 from Newzulu on Vimeo.

SPIRITS SALES ARE ONLY 1.5% UP IN 2014

Overall, 2014 is not going to be remembered as a great year for sales of spirits with only 1.5% increased sales in the USA.

Only a few brands particularly a few brands of vodka have recorded a nice growth such as Amsterdam vodka (+24.7% to 2.5 million cases) and Cîroc vodka (+9%).

Hennessy Cognac's sales have also significantly increased with +7.5%.

Sources: Shanken Daily News

THE HARVEST IS OVER IN COGNAC AND THE PROSPECTS ARE GOOD FOR THIS VINTAGE

In Charentes, the home of cognac, volume is predicted to climb 12 percent to 8.82 million hectoliters from 7.88 million hectoliters, with a warm and dry September halting the development of botrytis and mildew fungal disease.

Harvest of the ugni blanc grapes used for distilling cognac started late September, with “clearly” higher-than-usual grape weight compensating for a reduced fruit count. 80% of the harvest suffered from difficult climates during the summer with hailstorms earlier in the summer mid june to late June. And a rainy summer, with a cooler than usual August. September was surprisingly sunnier which allowed for a last minute recovery of the situation.

99% of the producers have completed their harvest as of today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwZ5TCcE8bk&w=560&h=315]

Distilling cognac will start in 3 weeks. Regulations allow distillation to be operated from 15th November to 31st March. Right now producers are focused on fermenting their juices into wines in times for the 4 1/2 months distilling season.

9 liters of wine with 9% Alc/Vol will produce 1 liter of eaux-de-vie with 70% Alc/Vol. Eaux-de-vie is the name of the spirit produced from distillation. Only after it is aged 2 years in oak barrels, the eaux-de-vie is then called cognac.

SCOTCH WHISKY INTERNATIONAL DECLINE OF SALES

Cognac is not the only brown spirit to suffer from a world sales decrease. Scotch whisky saw it worst sales decrease this year from January to June in 15 years, and this is not over.

Cognac and Scotch Sales Decline

According to the Scotch Whisky Association, exports fell 11% to £1.77 billion in the six months through June.
Major markets saw double-digit shipment decreases like the U.S. (-16% to £328 million/$538m), Germany (-22%), South Africa (-10%), Brazil (-19%), and Mexico (-27%). In Asia the drop was the worst with  China (-35%) and a key re-exporter to the Chinese market, Singapore (-46%) but also South Korea (-12%).
Still, a host of key markets enjoyed solid growth—such as France (+6%), Taiwan (+39%), United Arab Emirates (+26%), India (+31%), Australia (+4%) and Japan (+18%).

This declined is attributed to slowing down economies, China's grip on conspicuous consumption and a stronger currency exchange rate of the Pounds.

Source: Scotch Whisky Association

DECLINING COGNAC SHIPMENTS IN 2014

Global Cognac shipments declined markedly by volume and value in the year through June, with growth in the U.S. unable to offset continuing woes for the category in China. According to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), shipments fell 7% by volume to 156 million bottles in the 12 months through June, with value down 10% to €2.2 billion ($2.85b).

Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac BNIC Logo

A 19% slump in sales to the Far East—where shipment value amounted to €1 billion ($1.3b)—was blamed primarily on the ongoing government austerity drive in China. Cognac sales to Europe also declined, falling 12%, even as Eastern Europe posted volume progress. Meanwhile, shipments to North America—led by top Cognac export market the U.S., which accounted for 54 million bottles—delivered 6% growth by both volume and value.

Source: http://www.shankennewsdaily.com

FRANCE IS EXPECTED TO REGAIN ITS POSITION AS THE WORLD'S BIGGEST WINE PRODUCER IN 2014

Government and trade groups from Italy, France and Spain have released wine production forecasts for the year 2014, with France expected to jump over Spain and Italy to become the world’s biggest wine producer. According to France’s Ministry of Agriculture, French wine production is expected to increase by 11% this year, to 46.93 million hectoliters.

2014 Country World Largest Producers of Wines

Italy’s Associazione Enologi Enotecnici Italiani is projecting Italian wine output to fall 13.5%, from 48.2 million hectoliters last year to 41.6 million hectoliters for 2014. According to the Milan-based group, wet weather conditions are primarily to blame, with 12 of Italy’s 15 wine production regions including Piedmont, Veneto, Sicily and Puglia among others set to record volume losses that is believe to be the smallest since 1950.
Spanish wine production, meanwhile, is expected to drop by 26.3%, from 2013’s record 53.55 million hectoliters to 39.44 million hectoliters this year, according to reports from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture.

As a result, French wines are probably going to be cheaper and more available than before. Hence, it will indirectly help the cognac where French wine might brighten the reputation and remind consumers of French alcoholic beverages.

Source: The Drinks Business‎