10 minute read
COGNAC AND BRANDY: GRAPE OPPORTUNITY
Grape opportunity
Seamus May discovers how the potential behind the Cognac and brandy category has been developing lately.
From Spain, to Italy, to France - where there is grape, there tends to be wine; and where there is wine, there tends to be brandy. And the same is true of Australia, where a surplus of grapes is creating the perfect conditions for a resurgent brandy category to flourish.
Holly Klintworth, Director and Distiller at Bass & Flinders Distillery (and the recently appointed President of the Australian Distillers Association), believes that our distilling and wine industries can work together to solve the problem of wine overproduction, while simultaneously strengthening their relationship.
“Brandy production in Australia back in its heyday originally was harnessed as a complementary industry to manage excess wine production, and I think on a macro level we may start to see this kind of symbiotic relationship develop between these industries once more,” Klintworth said.
-Matt Redin, Marketing Manager, Angove Family Winemakers
Brendan Carter, Co-founder of Applewood Distillery, strikes a similar chord, adding: “We have an agricultural problem - too many grapes, too much wine. This is borne from a number of bumper-crop years, COVID impacts on large wineries, and international trade disputes resulting in large swathes of the wine industry accumulating more wine than it needs.”
Necessity is the mother of creation, and Carter believes that Australia can follow in the footsteps of Italy by turning crisis into opportunity. Over 70 years ago, a similar situation in Italy gave birth to the grappa industry as we know it today.
It’s for this reason that Applewood, already known for its gin and liqueurs, has plans to include brandy in its offering in the future.
“We’ve already had brandy in cask for six or so years, so we’re not exactly entering it, more so focusing on it more and more. This is largely due to Applewood’s modus operandi: we don’t seek to craft spirits that are commercial realities, but rather focus on what agricultural impact we could potentially have long-term,” Carter said.
“Distilleries (in our opinion) should be an integral part of the agricultural landscape, fixing agricultural problems.”
Such a move certainly also holds commercial opportunity - worldwide, the brandy category is tipped for moderate growth over the next few years. Market researcher, the IMARC Group, expects the global brandy market will reach USD$33.4bn by 2027, with a CAGR of 5.88 per cent.
And according to Matt Redin, Marketing Manager for Angove Family Winemakers, which produces St. Agnes Brandy, the top of the market is growing even faster.
“[We’re seeing] growth, especially at the premium end of the market with the St Agnes XO range now in double digit growth,” Redin said.
“We’re happy to report we are currently experiencing strong growth in the brandy category, after years of ‘flattish sales’.”
A broad brandy offering
Brandy’s global clout means the category has readymade diversity for specialist and independent retailers looking to entice drinkers who seek authentic and premium expressions, including regional appellations and styles.
Georgina Wright, General Manager of spirits distributor, Bibendum Bar, supports this notion.
“Bibendum Bar is going to market with different brands offering different styles and drinking experiences, for example Armagnac is a very sexy category right now,” she said.
Holly Klintworth
Meanwhile, for Cognac, Wright highlights that the famed region is fostering producers that challenge preconceived ideas and appeal to a younger audience.
“Chateau Laballe is driven by a young couple Cyril and Julie Laudet, as the eighth generation of the estate, determined to bring in what is considered the best practice in other regions, and is now an organic production that also controls every step of production from vineyard to bottle with no compromise but with deliberate intent to bring a quality range to a broader audience,” Wright said.
-Holly Klintworth, Director and Distiller Bass & Flinders Distillery
With more than 300 years of history, Martell Cognac is also actively trying to access a younger audience through new product development and highlighting the multitude of options for enjoying the category.
“Martell Blue Swift was introduced into the market to recruit new consumers to the Cognac category with an accessible taste profile and broader appeal with dark spirit drinkers,” said Eric Thomson, Global Marketing Director for the brand’s local distributor, Pernod Ricard Winemakers.
“There’s an exciting opportunity for retailers to showcase how Cognac can be enjoyed beyond the traditional image, including in cocktails, with mixers, or over ice.”
Another Cognac brand looking to appeal to a less traditional consumer is Cognac Monnet, distributed locally by Proof Drinks Australia.
“We feel the main appeal of Monnet is its style – targeting a younger demographic,” says Drew Doty, Managing Director of Proof Drinks Australia.
“The brand has heritage but does not want to be seen as something an older generation only would drink.”
Doty believes the Cognac category is well-placed to appeal to the Australian way of life, and this is highlighted in Monnet’s range, featuring an expression called Sunshine, designed to be mixed in cocktails.
“We also feel that our slogan ‘sunshine in a glass’ not only speaks to the heritage of the brand, but also the lifestyle we enjoy in Australia. Monnet isn’t just for sipping, it’s for cocktailing and having fun,” he said.
Australia joins the top table
While Cognac is internationally renowned, homegrown brandies from both larger producers and smaller craft distillers are still holding their own against the very finest spirit from around the world.
“I thoroughly believe we deserve to sit side-by-side Cognac and Armagnac as a legitimate, spirituous narrative driven by the uniqueness of our terroir,” Carter says.
“Australian climates and soils are exceptionally unique, and given the agricultural nature of brandy – the results will be equally unique.”
Klintworth offers a similar perspective, and said the only way is up for local brandy.
“Australia has a really special history with brandy… Australian brandy was once compared to the finest of the French Cognacs,” she said.
“It’s only a matter of time before more brandy producers really start making some noise both locally and internationally too, following in the footsteps of Australian craft whisky and craft gin no doubt.”
Redin notes that St Agnes is produced in a very similar manner to many Cognac brands, but also acknowledges the impact of the Australian environment and ingredients.
“The warmer climate is probably the biggest difference and can lead to a greater ‘angels’ share’ during maturation and more vibrant characters in the brandy at a younger age,” he said.
“St Agnes Brandy continues as a proudly 100 per cent Australian (and South Australian) product that is equal to the best in the world, having won best brandy at international competitions no less than three times.”
Cognac connection
Cognac remains brandy’s most storied region. Yet there is a strong and ongoing tradition of Australians learning the secrets of brandymaking from the French masters.
“Cognac is regarded as the birthplace of great brandy and it is here that Carl ‘Skipper’ Angove travelled in 1925 to examine the methods used to create this fantastic spirit,” Redin explains.
“Much of what he learnt back then has been passed down through the five St Agnes Master Distillers who have followed in his footsteps.”
Klintworth has traced the same path trod by Skipper Angove, recently making her own pilgrimage to Cognac. National Liquor News asked her what she had learnt, and what trends she had noted.
-Eric Thomson, Global Marketing Director ,Pernod Ricard Winemakers
“Some Cognac houses are actually choosing to produce products that don’t subscribe to the legal definitions of Cognac and so must be called brandy instead,” Klintworth said.
“I think this mindset in Cognac is really exciting because it shows that even some of the biggest houses in the world believe in the ‘brandy’ brand too, and are unleashing their creativity in this space, just as we have the ability to in Australia.
“Working with some of the best producers here in Cognac I’m learning that it’s taken them centuries to adapt their practices, processes and methods in the vineyard, cooperages and distilleries, to suit the wine that comes from their own unique terroir and environment.
“We can learn from them, from their trials and developments over the years, but rather than try and replicate, in Australia we need to have a deep appreciation for and understanding of our own parameters, the environment we are operating in and the soil from which our wine we distil comes from, and learn which of these elements can be harnessed in our favour to produce the very best quality brandy that is uniquely and proudly Australian,” Klintworth concluded.
Spotlight on St Agnes
The St Agnes Distillery is owned by the Angove family and located in Renmark SA, where they patiently craft Australia’s most highly awarded brandies.
Richard Angove commented: “These are world class brandies made right here in Renmark. We are really excited and humbled by the awards we have received over the past few years. They are a testament to the focus and dedication of the team at the distillery and winery.
“They are huge results for Renmark and the Riverland, the St Agnes Distillery is Australia’s longest continuously running brandy distillery so to be honoured with some many accolades, including being named Best Distiller in Australia in 2021, is something the region can be so proud of.”
Every year since 1925, the St Agnes Distillery and Barrell Halls have been carefully and characterfully handcrafting brandy that is a testament to the rewards of time, age, ambition and craft. The original copper pot stills, handcrafted and installed by H. Jennings of Adelaide in 1910, have been used to craft every drop of St Agnes Brandy giving it a unique signature and style. All St Agnes brandies are matured in small oak barrels until the Master Distiller determines it is ready for blending and bottling.
The St Agnes range is distributed nationally by the team at Vintage House Wine and Spirits.
