Tag: The Charente News

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.

 

The Oak Sensation

Just at the moment the emphasis on cognac production in the Charente region has changed slightly.  On a recent visit to the area we met with one of the major barrel makers who reported that they are currently reducing their production of barrels.  This is partly because most new barrel orders come at the end of the year and partly because they need to concentrate on bulk tank production.  With the on-going need for blended cognacs, large storage facilities, where blending can take place with the minimum risk of quality deterioration, are constantly in demand. These giant barrels can hold between 14,000 and 120,000 litres of cognac and the oak staves can be as much as three inches thick. Clearly such big tanks are not ideal for storage as the cognac exposure to the tannins in the wood is far less than in a normal sized barrel.  However, for the big houses this can be a cost effective method of cognac storage.

All Hermitage Cognacs are aged in much smaller barrels and you can read more about the ageing process here.