THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND IS MAKING HER WINES IN ENGLAND

Great Windsor Park Sparking Wines from Queen Elizabeth Windsor Castle

The British royal family has agreed to allow in 2011 one of the largest British wine retailers (Laithwaites) to plant French grape wine varietals (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and inot Meunier) on one of their property, in fact a few minutes away from Queen's Elizabeth II residence near Windsor Castle. This grape varietal set is the exact varietal set one would use to make sparkling wines.

Great Windsor Park Vineyard, Aerial View

"Tony Laithwaite grew up in Windsor. He loved Windsor Great Park as a boy and relished the opportunity to make wine here when, in 2011, Laithwaite's was permitted by The Crown Estate and the Royal Farms to revive an ancient vineyard tradition ... planting the classic Champagne grapes - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier." Laithwaites.co.uk

Well guess what? Now the British royal family has its own line of sparkling wines, from grapes grown in Windsor Great Park. The first batch of Windsor Vineyard English Quality Sparkling Wine was harvested in 2013, and let to rest to produce only 3,000 bottles of sparkling wines and sold out quickly for $44 in the UK.

The second delivery will be available in fall 2017 at British retailer Laithwaite's, and it is believed to be sold quickly.

Watch this superb video, history in the making!

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

The production is expected to be about 20,000 bottles in 6 years, which will make a new competitor for champagnes.

Sources: Refinery29, Laithwaites

CAMPARI ACQUIRES BULLDOG GINS

Bulldog Gin Sold to Gruppo Campari February 2017

It is not often that one gets to see the insider of a transaction and get to read the details.

Shanken Daily News offers this info:

"Italy’s Gruppo Campari has acquired Bulldog Gin for roughly $58 million.

Launched in the U.S. in 2007 by entrepreneur and investment banker Anshuman Vohra, Bulldog (roughly $26 a 750-ml.) is currently available in nearly 100 markets around the globe, with a strong concentration in Europe.

. Bulldog sold around 150,000 cases in total in 2016.
. The brand’s net sales were around $12 million (+22% sales previous year).

The deal values the independently-owned Bulldog at approximately 13.6 times the expected CAAP (contribution after advertising and promotion) of about €4 million ($4.3m) in 2017."

The ratios are starting to look like those App start-ups and Dot-Com Companies.

There is a spirit valley after all!

Sources: Bulldog, ShankenDailyNews

MARTELL IS CHARRING COGNAC CASKS TO MAKE A MORE INTENSE CORDON BLEU

Martell Cordon Bleu Toasted Casks

Pernod Ricard-owned Cognac house Martell is ringing in the Chinese Year of the Rooster with the launch of Cordon Bleu Intense Heat Cask Finish, which utilises a first-of-its-kind finishing process for the brand.

Available in Asia Pacific travel retail, Martell Cordon Bleu Intense Heat Cask Finish is created using a cask toasting and finishing process new to the Cognac house.

Extra heat is applied to the casks using as if charring an American whisky oak barrel.

Then, the cognac is aged 6 months.

The resulting Cognac is said to offer “heightened fruit and spice tasting notes” including a “fruity citrus sweetness, a toasted nuttiness and robust spice”.

The pack also features invisible thermochromic inks that react with a consumer’s body temperature to glow fiery red when rubbed, designed to replicate glowing embers.

Martell Cordon Bleu Intense Heat Cask Finish is available in Asia Pacific travel retail now.

Source: The Spirits Business

SALES FROM REMY COINTREAU SHOW GROWTH

Remy Cointreau

After a strong third quarter, Rémy Cointreau’s sales were up by nearly 5% (and 6% on an organic basis) over the first nine months of its fiscal year. The company’s organic sales rose by 9% in the third quarter (ending December 31, 2016), as high-single digit growth in the U.S. market combined with a double-digit advance in China to produce significant progress.

Rémy’s third-quarter sales bump more than doubled analysts’ projections. Flagship brand Rémy Martin was the company’s growth engine over the first three quarters of its fiscal year. 

The Cognac brand’s sales grew by 11.2% on an organic basis. Meanwhile, in China, the brand’s depletions were up by high-single digits, in part because of the earlier Chinese New Year. Beyond Rémy Martin, Rémy Cointreau’s liqueurs & spirits unit (led by Cointreau) grew by 4.1% over the first three quarters, while its partner brands business fell by 15%, mostly due to the end of distribution contracts for Piper Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck in several key markets.

Source: Shanken Daily News

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BNIC IS HIRING TEUWEN PR AGENCY TO PROMOTE COGNAC

Teuwen and BNIC

Food and beverage PR specialist Teuwen has been named 2017 agency of record for Bureau National Interprofessional du Cognac (BNIC), which acts on behalf of all the Cognac growers and firms of the region of production, as well as Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance in California and Long Island Wine Council in New York.

These are the first spirit Geographic Indication and American wine associations to join the agency’s client roster since being founded in 1995 by Stephanie and Geert Teuwen.

Current clients include: Amy’s Kitchen, Bordeaux Wines, Champagne Laurent-Perrier, Côtes de Bordeaux, Elena Walch, Esporão Wines, Falesco, Le Botaniste, Le Pain Quotidien, Rhône Valley Wines, Saint-Émilion-Pomerol-Fronsac and Wines of Alsace.

Started in New York City, Teuwen branched out this past year with the opening of an office in the San Francisco Bay area.

Please Teuwen help!

OLIVIER VERNON GIFTED $300,000 OF COGNAC TO HIS GIANTS FRIENDS

Custom engraved bottles of Louis XIII cognac (Retail: $3,000 each) have been given to every member of the Giants by Olivier Vernon.

Remy Martin Cognac Louis the XIII

Vernon, who started his career with the Dolphins, is in the first year of a five-year, $85 million contract he signed with the Giants over the offseason.
Why not?
If one can afford it!

Source: Complex, Photo REMY MARTIN

INNOVATIVE HAND MADE BRANDY IN ISRAEL

The Pelter family has long been in the tradition of distilling with an uncle traveling in a Ford T going from East to West of the USA to offer distilling service with a home made pot still in 1920 with the start of prohibition.

They distill using a used old cognac pot still they had sourced in France. It is small and therefore can only produce small batch.

They did not follow any one and Pelter is producing spirits from Majhoul dates which was the genesis of this distilling, then single grape brandy of merlot, gin, apple brandy, and soon whisky.

Pelter Distillery makes Single Grape Brandy of Merlot in Israel

They use the resources and grapes from their estate which is very reputable in Israel.

Source: Pelter Winery and Distillery