Monthly Archives: July 2011

Why, oh why do we in Britain have such a love of Pineau des Charentes but never seem to drink it? In a generation of tasting this rich aperitif from the Charente region, I have only come across one person who has failed to like it, saying it was too sweet. Pineau is sold in [...]

Vinexpo is the biggest wines and spirits exhibition in the world. It is held in Bordeaux every other year and on alternate years is held in Hong Kong.
Although the official figures showed a 3% increase in visitor numbers, numbers of European visitors were down with the exception of visitors from the UK. Visitors from China [...]

The hot Spring weather has created many problems in the Charente Vineyards. Temperatures of more than 35 degrees have had a severe effect on this year’s grape harvest. The sun has scorched the grapes, drying them and changing them to little more than sultanas.
Temperatures in the Charente of this magnitude are unusual and can be [...]

Continuing from our previous post about early Cognac history, some more historical dates in time about the golden nectar...

1835 Felix Courvoisier and Louis Gallois found Cognac Courvoisier
1849 Martell use their own labels on their bottles for the first time
1854 Cognacs depict 4 different zones of cognac. Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Premier Bois and Deuxième Bois
1856 [...]

Sometimes in summer we think of more fruity drinks and with the lower distillation range of 52 – 72 degrees there is ample scope to develop the plummy flavours of good armagnac. Delord have a superb range of vintage armagnacs, but like so many armagnac houses they have recognised that these vintages will one day [...]

Louis Royer is probably better known now than it has ever been during its long life, as a result of its takeover by the giant Suntory organisation in Japan. The firm was started in 1853 by its founder Louis Royer. He was a chief blender at another cognac house and he decided to establish his [...]