The Charente Scene – Summer 2015

It’s surprising how moods can change with some decent weather. On a recent visit to the Charente region we met with some of our usual colleagues and talked with viniculturists.  All were well pleased with the vine development and weather conditions which have been instrumental in ensuring that so far, this year’s crop could be one of the best. How things have changed, a couple of months ago it was all doom and gloom because of torrential rain and cold weather; fears ran amok that the harvest would be poor! We had a good look at several vineyards and certainly the good weather has been almost too good as many vines have not yet been trimmed and the vine development has been really fast.  Away from the vineyards, most of the growers and small cognac houses are doing their European rounds, visiting their distributors.  They try to get all their business done before July and August, when they disappear on holiday, before returning to start the harvest and distillation preparation in the autumn.

Read more about the cognac industry on our Information Page.