Any Cognac Drinkers here?
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The vineyards of Cognac, sprawled across the rolling hills of southwestern France, are typically desolate in January. Once the grapes are harvested every fall and their juice is fermented and distilled to make the region’s namesake spirit, the area goes into hibernation. But this year, there are pockets of activity, with producers uprooting vines, the first coordinated removal since the late 1990s as the industry attempts to reduce production and revive a flagging market.
After years of exuberant demand for Cognac, the industry is nursing a hangover, with shipments last year falling to 141 million bottles, the lowest level since 2009, according to BNIC, a trade group of producers. And consumption will drop about 2% annually through 2029, data tracker IWSR predicts.
“We didn’t see this violent crisis coming,” says Thibaut Delrieu, managing director of Hine, a small brand that laid off more than a third of its workers last year and is pulling vines from about 10% of its 129 hectares. “We haven’t yet hit bottom.”
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Yup. Love the stuff. Sadly enough it does not love me back. Have to be really careful when the drinks you love give the worst hangovers - red wine and brandy.
