Jiles's Blog

In this video I am out and about near Verzenay, one of the most prestigious villages in La Montagne de Reims, famous for its Pinot Noir grapes and for other things which you'll discover in the video.

Click this link to watch the video

https://mymaninchampagne.wistia.com/medias/x812lkg4fz

 

 

 

Hello and welcome to a new series of videos direct from here in Champagne.

As I go walking in the vineyards I'll post videos of what I see so that, even if you can't come to Champagne yourself, the videos will bring a small bring a small part of Champagne into your home or office.

Here's video No. 1 and do come back soon to find out what's new. Click on this link to open the video

https://mymaninchampagne.wistia.com/medias/sb2tre3ate

 

All the best from Champagne

Jiles

 

 

 

 

CHAMPAGNE BULLETIN APRIL 2021

Frost damage in Champagne

Unless you read the wine trade press frequently you probably won’t have heard about the widespread frost that hit almost all wine growing areas in France between the evening of April 5th and the early morning of April 8th.

Just a few weeks ago the talk was that Spring had come early to Champagne bringing with it a spell of mild, warm weather. The danger with this however is always that the thermometer would suddenly go plunging down again and regrettably that is exactly what happened.

First, the bad news
Within a matter of 48 hours the temperature dropped from 23 degrees C (73 degrees F) to -7 degrees C in some places (that's just 19 degrees F). The sub-zero temperatures killed off many of the young buds just as they were starting to emerge, and fewer buds means that fewer grapes develop and that in turn means a smaller the harvest in a few months' time.

There's not a great deal one can do about temperature swings of this magnitude, although there are a variety of measures that can be taken to mitigate the damage. These range from spraying water over the vines in a process called aspersion - it's effective because ice forms around the young buds and, surprising though it may seem, the temperature stays just above zero and so the buds are saved,

- to lighting braziers in the vineyards

 and even to using low-flying helicopters to stir up the air and prevent sub-zero pockets of cold air accumulating.

Credit: Heliops

Unfortunately, each one of these methods has its drawbacks: you need an abundant supply of water close by for aspersion to work effectively; you need an awful lot of braziers to keep temperatures above freezing over a large area of vineyard and not everyone has easy access to a helicopter or two!
Consequently, there was major damage to the vineyards across the Champagne region and across almost the whole of France.

And now, the not so bad news
In a situation like this, one has to look for the positives and despite the loses in the Champagne vineyards, we have a few reasons to be grateful.

Whilst still feeling sympathy for those who have been more severely affected, many here are relieved that Champagne has fared less badly than many other places as you can see from this estimate of the damage recently published in The Drinks Business.

The second reason, if not exactly to be grateful but to put things in perspective is that we have experienced frost like this many times in the past and will no doubt do so again. The years 2016 and 2003 come to mind as years when a considerable amount of the crop was lost to frost in Champagne. To some extent, frost damage is just part and parcel of the risks of being a wine maker.

Above all, Champagne, unlike most other wine-making regions, has its system of Réserve Individuel by which every wine maker puts aside a proportion of the wines from each year's harvest. This system has many benefits, one of which is to allow champagne makers to manage exactly the sort of problems that arise from frost damage.

Even within the Champagne appellation the damage varied from region to region. The most prestigious area of La Montagne de Reims and La Côte des Blancs got away fairly lightly. The worst affected area was the Aube region in the southern part of Champagne where the impact of the frost was extremely severe, because, being further south, the development of the buds was further advanced that in more northerly areas.

You can learn more about the different regions of Champagne, about the Réserve Individuelle system and much, much more in My Champagne Expert, my online Champagne course that is invaluable if you are seriously interested in creating a champagne brand or if you simply want to learn more about this fascinating region and its wonderful wine.
Here’s a link to find out more.

Don’t mess with Champagne
If you are considering creating a private champagne brand, I am sure that one of the things I will have mentioned in our discussions is the need to be very careful about the name you choose for your brand.

I have urged you to be cautious about this, in large part because the authorities here in Champagne keep a very close eye and a tight rein on the use of the word ‘Champagne’. In addition, they are extremely litigious if they notice any instances of what they consider to be abusive or misleading use of the word ‘Champagne’.

A case in point that is currently before the European Court of Justice and awaiting a verdict concerns a chain of tapas bars in Catalonia, Spain that calls itself Champanillo.

To summarise what I understand to be the basis of the matter, the Comité Champagne objects to this name because, in their opinion, it deliberately and unfairly uses an association with Champagne to derive commercial benefit thanks to the worldwide fame, recognition and image of Champagne.

The situation is aggravated because the signage used by the tapas bars often features two glasses in a typical ‘Champagne toast’ image.

The case has been going on for a few years already. The Comité Champagne’s first attempt to prevent the use of Champanillo was rejected by a court in Barcelona. That decision was appealed, and the case has now found its way all the up to the European Court of Justice. A final (or maybe not final) verdict is expected any day now.

Another well-known case is that of a village in Switzerland called Champagne. It has existing for centuries and, what’s more, wine has been made in the village for generations. It is still, not sparkling and the only grapes used are Chasselas which cannot be used in Champagne, so you might think that they had a good claim to call their wine Champagne, but you would be wrong.

The Comité Champagne took the case to the courts of the European Union which ruled against the Swiss village which now has to find a different name to market its wines.

The moral of this story is not to mess with the name Champagne. I have known cases of web sites being forced to close down and businesses being made to change their name because they used the word Champagne in the title, even in some cases, when the businesses concerned were exclusively marketing Champagne and, some might say, were helping to promote the wine from this famous region.

You have probably heard the phrase ‘Champagne only comes from Champagne’ many times before and this short story may serve to show you the lengths the Comité Champagne will go to in order to protect the appellation.

Please be careful!

Is this the start of the rebound?
As lockdown restrictions in many countries are beginning to be eased, many in Champagne have been anxiously awaiting the latest shipment figures in the hope of spotting signs of an upturn in sales.

Well, it’s too early to draw any absolute conclusions but the shipment figures, just released for March 2021 show a leap of 38.7% versus March 2020.

It should be remembered that March represents only a small part of the annual total, but this increase is nevertheless a very welcome step in the right direction and the forecast for the first quarter of 2021 is for an increase of 3.7% versus the same period in 2020.

As you certainly know, during the past year there’s been a big increase in sales direct to consumers and in at-home consumption of wine, although this hasn’t been enough to offset the losses due to bars, restaurants and other venues being closed.

Prosecco was the main beneficiary of growth in at-home consumption, probably because of the lower price point compared to Champagne, but as more and more people are celebrating a less restricted life with sparkling wine of many types, including Champagne, the chairman of Henkell Frexienet, one of the industry’s major players in sparkling wines and Champagne, believes that what he calls a premiumisation trend within the sparkling wine category is now emerging, with consumers seeking higher quality and showing more of an interest in learning about the different quality tiers within the sector – more good news for Champagne.

“There’s gold in them thar hills”
This was apparently the cry of prospectors rushing off to California in the 1840s Gold Rush, but you might say the same about wines and spirits.

In last month’s bulletin I wrote about some of the celebrity brands of wine and spirits that have been created by celebrities in various fields, amongst them Conor McGregor’s Proper No. 12 whiskey.

It’s recently been announced that a majority share in Proper No. 12 Whiskey has been acquired for a reported £600 million. Not a bad return considering the brand was only launched two and a half years ago.

Of course, deals like this are very much the exception, not the rule and very few people have the reputation and following of Conor McGregor, but it’s food for thought, nevertheless.

That’s all for this month, but I’ll be back at the end of May to keep you updated.

Meanwhile, all the best from Champagne.

Jiles
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HOW CAN I MAKE MONEY FROM A PRIVATE CHAMPAGNE BRAND?

Stars everywhere.

You may already know that Dom Perignon, after whom the famous champagne brand was named, was a real person. He was a monk who lived between 1638 and 1715.

Legend has it that he was blind and, possibly as a result of his blindness, he is said to have had an exceptional sense of taste which was one of the skills that enabled him to make great wine. Anyway, one day when he had just tasted a wine that he thought was outstanding, he is said to have shouted out to his fellow monks “Come quickly. I am tasting the stars!”

Stars of a different kind are involved in the champagne business to this day and a look at this month’s news will show you what I mean and towards the end of the bulletin we’ll discuss some of the things you will need to make your champagne brand a success.

Lady Gaga

Staying on the theme of Dom Perignon, the brand has just announced a collaboration with Lady Gaga to produce a very limited number - just 110 - of special jeroboams (that’s the equivalent of 4 regular bottles).

According to the announcement, this is likely to be just the first of several joint projects between the singer and the iconic champagne brand and although both parties say that they share a passion for creativity and artistic endeavour, I am sure that the potential financial returns associated with the deal will also have been an important factor in the agreement between the parties.

No figures have been disclosed, but I can imagine that the amounts of money involved will be significant.

Roger Daltry

Many of you will have heard about The Who, a famous rock band from quite a few years back and of their iconic lead singer Roger Daltry.

Some years ago, Roger and his fellow band member and guitar legend Pete Townsend, launched a charity called Teen Cancer Trust to raise funds for young people affected by this disease. The charity operates in the UK and in the USA.

One of the ways they raise money for the trust is from sales of a champagne brand they created. I have to admit that I have not tasted this champagne; it has received some excellent scores in several wine competitions but at a price of £95 (130 USD) per bottle one would expect it to be well above average.

I imagine that a generous margin has been built into the sales price in order to raise funds for the trust. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, of course, and it does demonstrate how effective a vehicle champagne can be as a means of fund-raising for a charity.

Picture credit: Eminent Life

In the spirit world

On the subject of raising money and stardom, Becle, the company behind Jose Cuervo tequila, has secured a US$150m loan to acquire the remaining stake it doesn’t already hold in Conor McGregor’s Proper No.12 Whiskey.

If you don’t know of Conor McGregor, he’s a well-known, even notorious, mixed martial arts fighter who was recently involved in created a brand of Irish whiskey.

With sums of money as high as $150 million changing hands, and that is only for a portion of the shares in the brand, one can quickly see that there is potentially a great deal of money to be made from wines and spirits brands,

but is this type of money only possible for film stars, singers and other people who are already famous?

The honest answer is probably, Yes.

These eye-watering brand valuations are the exception rather than the rule and it would be a serious mistake to imagine that if you create a brand of champagne, or anything else, the money will just fall from the trees.

Who will you sell to?

The key factor for all these celebrities is that they have a huge following of fans who are ready to buy almost anything that they endorse and, sometimes, to buy them at almost any price.

Therefore, if you are considering creating a private champagne brand, the key learning is that you need to have, or have access to, a substantial database of potential clients and you have to give them a good reason to buy your product at least once – once you have secured a first order, it will be down to the effectiveness of your follow-up marketing to generate repeat orders.

It follows that before you go very far down the road of creating a brand, you need to be crystal clear about who you plan to sell to and what those people are looking for. In fact, knowing as much as possible about your target audience is crucial and should be studied in-depth and at length.

Where are those people?

Equally, the question of distribution is of critical importance.

How are you going to deliver your product to your customers once they have placed an order?

Over the past year, with many bars, restaurants and hotels closed, people have not been able to enjoy a drink at a normal hospitality venue. Consequently, we have seen a huge increase in ordering of wine on-line for enjoyment at home. This is a trend that is unlikely to go away anytime soon and it is forecast to carry on getting bigger and bigger. This is a part of your distribution strategy that you can’t afford to ignore.

Distribution is a topic that is hedged around with laws, regulations and taxes no matter which country you are in and if you can’t manage distribution yourself – which you probably can’t – then you need to find a trustworthy, efficient and affordable distribution partner to do the work for you.

Is that it?

Unfortunately not. There are a multitude of other factors to consider, from a web site to launch parties, to the cost of free bottles, and on to cashflow needs, ordering and sales forecasts… the list is a long one.

But, if you have an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for what you are doing, all these issues can be a source of enjoyment as well as challenge and seeing your vision gradually take shape and become reality will be immensely satifying.

Your ambitions probably need to be a lot lower than Lady Gaga’s or Conor McGregor’s, ( #or maybe not) but whatever your goals, provided the do your homework and keep your investment in line with your expected sales, there is no reason why your project can’t be successful and great fun.

Who knows?Someday, somewhere down the line, someone may want to pay you a lot of money to buy your brand.

What’s in store for champagne in 2021?

In previous bulletins we have already looked at the shipment figures from champagne in 2020 versus 2019 and no one was surprised that there was an overall decline of 17.9% in volume and of 16.7% in value.

These are pretty dramatic declines over just one year, but in fact it was a better result than some had feared at the start of last year.

Now, one year on from the start of the frenzy that overtook the world last year, there are many signs that consumption and shipments will bounce back gradually in the next few years with sparkling wine forecast to recover more quickly than still wine.

International Wines and Spirits Review reports that sales of sparkling wine, of which champagne is a significant part, are expected to regain 2019 levels by 2023. Longer than most of us would wish, but a positive trend nevertheless.

Meanwhile, hidden amongst all the red ink were a few champagne success stories from last year that deserve a mention:

• The Netherlands up 14.5% in volume and up 4.3% in value in 2020 versus 2019
• Norway up 18.4% in volume and up 14.1% in value
• Ivory Coast up 14.8% in volue and up 24.7 % in value
• Sierra Leone up 301.6% in volume and up 642.4 % in value

Source CIVC

Sure, the percentage gains look amazing becuse the underlying figures are still small, but

' From little acorns mighty oaks do grow'.

Keep calm and Drink Champagne

Finally in this month’s bulletin, a quirky but appealing story from here in Champagne.

You may have heard of Beer Yoga, a trend that is gathering fans all around the world.

Well, not to be left behind, one enterprising couple at Champagne Louis Brochet has launched Champagne Yoga.

Called ‘Tasting in Full Consciousness’ (Dégustation en Pleine Conscience), the session consists of an hour’s yoga session, outside overlooking the vineyards if the weather is fine, to calm the mind and exercise the body; then a tasting of two of Louis Brochet’s finest cuvées – definitely more up my street than beer yoga.

Jiles Halling

1st April 2021