Cognac. Classification of cognacs in the world and Ukraine
Cognac is an alcoholic beverage with a strength of at least 40% vol. which is produced according to a special technology from certain grape varieties.
The name “C ognac“ is given to the strong drink thanks to the city in France Cognac, where the drink first appeared. Cognac is considered to be a native French drink. The name “Cognac”, the technology of production of this drink and the geographical boundaries of the area where its production is allowed are strictly defined and prescribed in many legislative acts. All other drinks produced according to the technology of Cognac production must be called brandy.
Interesting fact:in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris, Nikolai Shustov presented anonymous samples for tasting. His products were produced at the factories he owned in Odessa and Yerevan. The experts of the World Exhibition appreciated the taste of the cognac and awarded it the first place. After the incognito was revealed, Nikolai Shustov for the first time in the whole world received the privilege and right to name his products with the name “Cognac” (cognac).
Currently, according to international legislation , Ukrainian cognac producers have the right to use the name “Cognac of Ukraine” when selling the drink on the territory of Ukraine or exporting it to countries outside the European Union. However, it is prohibited to write the name in Latin letters “Cognac”.
As you know, the issue of Ukraine’s accession to the European Union is still being resolved, and one of the points of the association agreement with the EU is a ban on the use of geographical names of wine products, namely cognac, champagne, port wine, madera, cahors and sherry. If this agreement is signed without proper adjustments, domestic producers of the wine industry will suffer enormous losses.
According to the world classification established by the National Interprofessional Cognac Bureau, cognacs are divided into 5 classes. Each class has its own designation, which is indicated on the label.
- V.S. (Very Special, Selection, in French – de Luxe, Trois Etoiles) – cognac aged in oak barrels for at least 2 years.
- Superior – “quality” cognac with at least 3 years of ageing.
- V.S.O.P. (Very Superior Old Pale, French – Vieux, Reserve), V.O. (Very Old) – “very high quality old” cognac with at least 4 years of ageing.
- V.V.S.S.O.P. (Very Very Superior Old Pale, French -GrandReserve) – “very very superior old cognac” with at least 5 years of ageing.
- X.O. (eXtra Old, French – Tres Vieux, Vieille Reserve) – “extra old” cognac with at least 6 years of ageing.
According to the Interprofessional Cognac Bureau, the classification of cognacs after 6.5 years of ageing is prohibited, as it is believed that the blending process of more than 6.5 years cannot be controlled.
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Interesting fact: to check the ageing of cognac at home and to check how honest the producers are, you should twist a cognac glass with cognac poured into it around the axis and look at the trace of cognac. If the trace is visible for 5 seconds, the cognac is aged about 5-8 years. If the trace is visible for 15 seconds, then the ageing of such cognac is about 20 years. It is said that the traces of cognacs aged 50 years or more can be admired for 18 seconds.
In the post-Soviet space another classification of cognacs is more often used:
– Ordinary cognacs – with ageing not less than 3-5 years;
– vintage cognacs – in turn divided into:
- EF (aged cognac) – aged for at least 6 years;
- KVVK (cognac matured of the highest quality) – ageing not less than 8 years;
- CW (old cognac) – aged for at least 10 years;
- OS (very old cognac) – aged for at least 15 years.
– Collection cognacs – finished vintage cognacs are additionally aged in oak barrels for at least 3 years.
Interesting fact: if you touch the outer wall of a cognac glass and fingerprints are visible, you are drinking a high-quality drink. And if the fingerprints cannot be seen, then the drink in the glass is of poor quality.
Cognac is produced mainly from the white grape variety Uni Blanc. Sometimes more aromatic and pleasant-tasting grapes such as Fol Blanche, Montille and Colombard are used. However, these varieties are more difficult to grow and less resistant to disease. To attract new consumers, producers “play” with the flavor of cognac, come up with unusual flavor compositions.
Interesting fact: the famous cognac house Courvoisier produces several variants of cognac: Courvoisier Napoleon Fine Champagne – flavor of home plum, Courvoisier VSOP Fine Champagne – floral and vanilla flavor; Courvoisier XO Imperial – flavor of St. John’s wort, vanilla and cocoa, and Courvoisier Initiale Extra – with flavor of mushrooms, cigar leaves and cinnamon, etc.
Cognac market in Ukraine. Analysis of production, export, import, consumption for 2008 – 2012 years
The cognac market in Ukraine is small, especially when compared to the vodka market (it is about 17 times smaller).
As in any market, the cognac market has its own problems: Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, lack of quality wine material for cognac production, changing Ukrainian legislation. All this creates difficulties for producers already working in the market and for those who would like to enter the market. This negatively affects the development of the cognac market and toughens competition.
As for the production of cognacs for 2008-2012: after the crisis year of 2008, the production volume decreased by 20.5% and amounted to 3.1 million dal. In 2010 and 2011 the dynamics of cognac production in Ukraine became positive, and the production volume increased to 4.7 million dal. In 2012 there was a slight decrease in the volume of production of cognacs and brandy: by 0.1 mln. dal or 2.1% compared to 2011.
Imports of cognac in 2011 amounted to 14.4 million liters, which is 6.7% more than in 2010. The average price of imported cognac is about 150 UAH per 1 liter. Since raw materials for cognac production are not of the best quality in Ukraine, cognac alcohol is constantly imported into the country. So in 2011 imports of cognac alcohol amounted to 1.85 million dal, which is almost 50% more compared to the previous year. The average price for 1 liter of imported cognac alcohol is about 30 UAH. Mostly cognac is imported to Ukraine from Armenia (more than 40%), France (more than 20%), Moldova, Georgia and Greece.
Imports of cognac to Ukraine exceeds exports almost twice. Exports of cognac in 2011 amounted to 8 million liters, which is 2 times more than in 2010. The average price of Ukrainian cognac exported abroad is UAH 100 per 1 liter.
Consumption of cognac in Ukraine is growing. Dynamics of retail turnover of cognac is positive. On average for the last 5 years the sales of cognac increased by 13.9%. In 2012 the sales volume of cognac in Ukraine amounted to 2890 million liters, which is 219 million liters or 8.2% more than in 2011.
In terms of price, the cognac market can be divided into 5 segments: mid-price, below average, above average, sub-premium and premium segments. There is a tendency to increase the market share of cognacs at average and below average prices. The shares of consumption of cognacs at above average price and premium segments are decreasing.
International cognac houses and brands. Ukrainian cognac producers, trademarks
In total, there are more than 20 thousand cognac houses registered in the world. International brands of these cognac houses, which are recognized all over the world:
- Hennessy;
- Remi Martin;
- Courvoisier;
- Camus (Camus);
- Augier;
- A.E. Dor (A.E. Dor);
- Bisquit (Bisquit);
- Davidoff;
- Frapin;
- Delamain;
- Godet (Godet);
- Meukow;
- Hine;
- and others.
The first cognac factory in Ukraine appeared in 1899 and it belonged to Nikolay Shustov. Today in Ukraine there are 14 enterprises producing cognac, which produce more than 50 types of cognac on the market.
The most famous cognac producers in Ukraine and their brands:
Odessa Brandy Factory is a part of one of the largest European holdings Global Spirits. Odessa Brandy Factory produces cognacs under the Ukrainian trademark “Shustov”. Line of cognacs under TM “Shustov”:
- traditional cognacs “Cognac 3*”, “Odessa 3*”, “Desna 4*”;
- Shustov 3*, Shustov 4*, Shustov 5* cognacs;
- Grand Prix Paris “Shustov V.S.”, “Shustov V.S.O.P.”, “Shustov V.V.S.O.P.”;
- ESTE V.S.O.P., ESTE V.V.S.O.P., ESTE X.O. cognacs;
- vintage “Chaika”, “Arcadia”, “Jubilee”;
- collectible “Odessa”, “Kiev”, “Golden Duke”.
Vintage wines and cognacs plant “Koktebel” produces vintage table, strong, dessert wines and cognacs. The line of cognac products of the plant “Koktebel”:
- ordinary cognacs “Five Stars”, “Kara-Dag”, “Koktebel 4”, “Three Stars”;
- vintage cognac of category “KV” “Koktebel”;
- vintage cognacs of the “KC” category: “Koktebel-KC”, “Crimea”;
- vintage cognacs of “OS” category: “Kutuzov”, “Koktebel 30 years”, “Koktebel-Raritet”;
- collectible cognacs “Koktebel collectible”, “Crimea collectible”.
Oktyabrskiy wine and cognac factory is located in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Releases to the Ukrainian market:
- ordinary cognacs of trademarks “Okvin 5*”, “Okvin 4*”, “Okvin 3*”, “Stary Krym 5*”, “Stary Krym 4*”, “Stary Krym 3*;
- branded cognacs of “KS” group of brands “Prestige of Crimea”, “Sofia Krymskaya”;
- vintage cognacs of “OS” group of “Grand Metre” trademarks.
OVKZ cognacs are bottled in 0.25 and 0.5 liter bottles.
Simferopol winery produces cognacs under TM “Ai-Petri KVVK”, “Naples Scythian”, “Peninsula Crimea”, “Simferopol”, “Arthur”.
Magliv LLC (Crimea, Alushta) – cognacs TM “Magarach”, “Nikitsky Sad”, “Alushta”, “Massandra”, “Castel”, “Le Sage”, “Grands Krym”, “Versailles”.
House of branded cognacs “Tavria”, located in Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson region, unites several brands of cognacs:
- Tavria Borisfen collection: “Borisfen 5*”, “Borisfen 4*”, “Borisfen 3*”, “Tavria Classic”, “Imperial”, “Kherson”, “Askania”, “Kakhovka Lux”;
- Tavria Premium collection: Tavria V.S., Tavria V.S.O.P., Tavria X.O.;
- line of cognacs of TM “Georgievsky”: ordinary “Georgievsky V.S.” (3*), ordinary “Georgievsky V.S.O.P.” (5*), vintage “Georgievsky Cavalier X.O.”;
- line of cognacs of TM “Jatone”: ordinary and vintage cognacs “Jatone V.S.”, “Jatone V.S.O.P.”, “Jatone H.O.”;
- line of cognacs of TM “Alexx”: “Alexx GT”, “Alexx Silver”, “Alexx Gold”, “Alexx Platinum”.
Uzhgorod Brandy Factory produces Ukrainian brandies under the trademarks “Uzhgorod”, “Karpaty”, “Tisa”, “Five Stars”, “Three Stars”, “Zakarpatsky”, “Beskidy”, “Nevitsky Castle”.
The company “Galicia Distillery” is located in Buchach, Ternopil region and produces cognacs under several brand names:
- Greenwich: Ordinary Cognacs “Greenwich Reserve”, “Greenwich 3*”, “Greenwich Special Reserve”, “Greenwich 5*”;
- Renuage: “Renuage 4*”, “Renuage 5*”;
- Buczacz: “Buczacz Abdank 5*”, “Buczacz Potocki 4*”, “Buczacz Herbovy 4*”.
Alef-Vinal (AR Crimea) produces cognac under several trademarks:
- line of cognacs of TM “Jean-Jacques”: “Jean-Jacques Tiumf”, “Jean-Jacques 3*”, “Jean-Jacques V.O. 4*”, “Jean-Jacques 5*”, “Jean-Jacques Classic 3*”, “Jean-Jacques France 4*”, “Jean-Jacques Reserve 5*”, “Jean-Jacques Paris 4*”, “Jean-Jacques Paris 5*”, “Jean-Jacques Eiffel Tower 5*”;
- line of KLINKOV TM cognacs: “Klinkov V.S.”, “Klinkov V.S.O.P.”, “Klinkov X.O.” (family collection, collection of ordinary cognacs, VIP collection);
- Dulber TM line of cognacs: Dulber V.S., Dulber V.O., Dulber V.S.O.P..
SUMMARY
The cognac market in Ukraine, although small, is developing. There are problems in the cognac market, which are related to domestic legislation and Ukraine’s entry into the European Union. This toughens competition in the market and makes it difficult for new players to enter the market.
Production and sales volumes are growing. Further growth in cognac consumption is predicted in the coming years.
The shares of consumption of cognacs at average and below average prices are growing. However, despite this, imports of expensive premium cognacs of international brands are also growing annually.
In order to attract new consumers Ukrainian producers update the range of produced cognacs, invent new flavors of cognacs, pour cognac in bottles of different capacity.
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