Moët Hennessy sale talks reported

There are major rumblings in the offices of some of the alcoholic beverage industry's major players.

Several days ago, we heard via the Sunday Telegraph of London that Brown-Forman and Bacardi were discussing merger possibilities.

Now, according to the Financial Times, LVMH may sell some or all of its two-thirds stake in Moët Hennessy, its wine and spirits business, to partner Diageo.

A sale would free up cash for LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods group, to spend on purchases in the fashion side of its business. Industry watchers have said luxury goods makers Hermès or Gucci could fit well within LVMH's portfolio, which includes Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs.

Moët Hennessy has either created or acquired a handful of well-known brands including Glenmorangie whisky, Belevedere and Chopin vodka, and 10 Cane Rum. It also owns some of the world's best-known champagne brands. Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot account for 34% of its sales.

To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Spirits Notebook
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd On Drinks home page.

Brown-Forman, Bacardi merger possibility reported

There's no official word on the possibility, but the Sunday Telegraph today said Brown-Forman Corp has hired investment bankers to look at a possible merger with rival Bacardi.

The British newspaper said Brown-Forman had hired Lazard to advise it on options ranging from selling individual brands to a merger with Bacardi.

"Brown-Forman and Bacardi are medium-sized, family-controlled businesses that fit well together," the newspaper quoted an unnamed drinks industry insider as saying.

Brown-Forman, headquartered in Louisville, KY, has an extensive brand portfolio that includes Jack Daniel's, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Canadian Mist and Old Times whiskies; Finlandia vodka; Don Eduardo and Herradura tequilas; Fetzer, Sonoma-Cutrer and Michel Picard wines, and, Tuaca, Chambord and Southern Comfort liqueurs.

Bacardi Ltd., headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, has about 200 products. Among them are Bacardi rum; Bosford, Bombay and Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose and 42 Below vodka; Cazadores tequila; Noilly Pratt vermouth; Dewar's, William Lawson's, Aberfeldy, Glen Deveron and Craigallachie Scotch whiskies, and B&B and Benedictine liqueurs.

To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Spirits Notebook
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd On Drinks home page.

'Wine terrorists' on the move in France

• From Agence France Presse:

UZES, France -- In Languedoc-Roussillon in the sunny south of France, a shadowy group has taken to "wine terrorism" to try to force the state to do more for producers hit by falling prices and cheap imports.

In a night-time raid last month its militants broke into a wine cooperative in Nimes and poured the equivalent of 1.2 million bottles of red, white and rose down the drain in their third attack in as many weeks.

"At 7 am, when the first person arrived ... he saw that all the vats were open and empty, with what was left of the wine all over the ground," said Jean Foch, the director of the Vignerons des Garrigues cooperative.

The wasted wine was worth around 630,000 euros ($830,000 US), he said, adding that most of it was from Languedoc-Roussillon, which in terms of volume is the biggest wine-producing region in the world.

Scrawled on the empty vats were the letters "CRAV", which in French stands for the Regional Committee for Viticultural Action, a secretive group that recently resumed a campaign it began several years ago.

The CRAV hates merchants who bring in cheap foreign wine from neighbouring Italy or Spain and has called for the state to guarantee prices for local producers.

[Go here for the full story.]

To Dowd's Spirits Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Non-Alcohol Drinks Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd On Drinks home page.

Old Noilly Pratt is new again

For as long as I can remember, I insisted any cocktails requiring dry vermouth as an ingredient be made with Noilly Pratt.

I own no stock in the company, know no one connected with it, and get no special treatment from said firm. What prompted my stance was simply this: The flavor and consistent quality of Noilly Pratt French Vermouth were above reproach. Or so I thought.

Eventually, I discovered that the version sold outside the U.S. borders, which I've tried in such diverse locations as Scotland, France and Ireland, has had more oomph, more quality. It's obvious that somewhere along the line, the original 1813 recipe was not being used in the French dry vermouth being shipped here.

Noilly Pratt recently officially announced what has been buzzing around the industry blogosphere for a while -- "the return of its original, classic blend to the U.S. market."

Ludovic Miazga of Noilly Pratt, France, says, "While U.S. consumers continue to explore the world of cocktails, they have turned their attention to authentic and sophisticated blends that speak to heritage and tradition.

"When early mixologists were writing the first cocktail books around the turn of the century, they reached for the original Noilly Pratt to provide an essential flavor and complex touch to their classic cocktails of the future. Now, once again, cocktail enthusiasts may taste the classics as they were meant to be enjoyed."

Noilly Pratt is aged for two or more years, and aged outdoors in oak casks for a full year before being blended with a secret combination of herbs and spices. In the aging court, called L'Enclos, the wines are directly exposed to the elements through the changes of season.

The vermouth was created by Joseph Noilly in 1813. It is a classic French apéritif created from Picpoul and Clairette grapes. The dry, full-bodied aged wines are infused with a blend of 20 herbs and spices, macerated directly in the wine for three weeks.

Noilly Pratt's packaging also has been changed. The new bottle shape, its designers say, was inspired by the Eiffel Tower and includes a pebbled surface to reflect the weathering effects the outdoor aging has on the wine. L’Enclos, the enclosure at the Noilly Pratt facility in Marseillan, France, is pictured on the front of the bottle. The suggested retail price of the 750ml bottle is $10.99.

To Dowd's Spirits Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Non-Alcohol Drinks Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd On Drinks home page.