Cognac grape harvest in full swing

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2009 looks set to be a much improved harvest of the ugni-blanc variety of grapes, the variety grown predominantly in Charente, and used for production of the world famous Cognac.

Wine-growers started the 'vendanges' on 27 September, and the 75,000 hectares of vines will take around three weeks to harvest.

Already 2009 looks to be more promising than 2008, when output barely exceeded 90 hectolitres (around 9000 litres) per hectare.  This year yields are expected to be in the range of 110 to 115 hectolitres per hectare.  

The ugni-blanc variety of grape is predominantly used for production of cognac, but it can also be used for juices, table wines and also for production of another regional speciality, Pineau des Charentes.  Up until now, wine-growers have been able to declare how much of their harvest will be used for cognac making once the yield was known, but from 2010 they will be asked to designate an amount by 1 July, long before the results of the harvest are known.

The decision was easy in 2005/6, and in 2007 when sales of cognac beat all records with 158 million bottles sold worldwide.  But the demand for cognac has diminished with the worldwide recession, and prices for materials have tumbled.  Growers will need to decide how much faith they put in the product, or whether to spread the risk across different products.

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