A Look At Camus

Business World: Is Camus just the 5th wheel in the cognac market?

The Cognac market has long been a Hennessy brand-led field. But after Hennessy, there is a three-corner battle for 2nd place with Martell, Remy Martin and Courvoisier all selling over a million cases per year, but still less than half the volume of leader Hennessy. Not surprisingly, all these top four cognac brands belong to huge liquor corporations. Hennessy of course comes from luxury conglomerate LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton), Martell is from Pernod Ricard, Courvoisier from Beam Suntory, and Remy Martin from Rémy Cointreau. The 5th largest but still way behind in terms of volume is Camus, a family-run company for five generations now. The present head of the company is Cyril Camus, the 44-year-old 5th-generation descendant.

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WNU Editor: I am a Remy Martin drinker .... Camus .... had a few times but it is not for me.

Cognac History and Vineyards (Video)

Apparently Red Wine Is Not Good For You

The Independent: Alcohol: Cancer risk 'increased' by drinking more than one glass of wine or pint of beer per day, experts warn

The UK is now one of few countries to advise the same alcohol limit for both sexes.

Drinking more than one glass of wine or pint of beer a day increases the risk of developing cancer, according to medical experts.

New guidelines for alcohol consumption by the UK published Friday by chief medical officers warn that drinking any level of alcohol has been linked to a range of different cancers.

The evidence from the Committee on Carcinogenicity (COC) overturns the oft-held view that a glass of red wine can have significant medical benefits for both men and women.

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Editor: Some have a different point of view .... Here’s What Happens When You Drink Red Wine Every Night (Mandy Oaklander, Time)

What Happens When You Suddenly Stop Drinking For One Month?

The Guardian: Going booze-free? The effects of a month without alcohol

With the start of another new year, people are once again swearing off alcohol for at least a month, often for charity. What are the potential effects of suddenly cutting all alcohol from your system?

Alcohol. It’s a popular social lubricant, provides pleasure, and often tastes nice. It also has long term health consequences, and imposes a heavy burden on our society. Overall, it’s a mixed blessing.

At present it’s becoming ever-more fashionable, even charitable, to abstain from alcohol for the month of January. After the indulgence of the Christmas period, it’s hardly surprising people will want to do something healthy, and what could be healthier than giving up alcohol?

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Editor: Speaking personally .... being irritable will be the first reaction .... but after one month .... the cravings will be there but the impact of not drinking will not.

Great Scotch Whisky (Video - Documentary)

China's Counterfeit Wine Market Is Killing Wine

Counterfeit wine bottles. CBS NEWS

Nic Cavell, New Republic: How China Conquered France’s Wine Country

French connoisseurs sold the Chinese pomp and prestige, until they started manufacturing it themselves.

In 1996, Chinese premier Li Peng surprised his audience at the National People’s Congress by toasting the Ninth Five-Year Plan with red wine: “Drinking fruit wines is helpful to our health, does not waste grain, and is good for social ethics,” he announced. For China’s rapidly growing underclass, this gesture signaled a commitment to rein in the fraud and waste epitomized by party banquets, where officials were known to drink each other under the table with bottles of Moutai Flying Fairy and other spirits derived from grain. For the elites in question, it was an unmistakable signal that business as usual required a new currency. Within a few years, they were using bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild to gain favor and ease transactions.

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Editor: The Chinese are not the only ones who are having problems with counterfeit wines .... Counterfeit wine: A vintage crime (CBS)

Global Warming Has Been Good To Champagne Producers

Racegoers pouring champagne.

VOA/Reuters: Global Warming Has Been Good to Champagne Makers, So Far

REIMS, FRANCE — Climate change is a touchy subject in Champagne.

As France prepares to host world leaders for talks on how to slow global warming next month, producers of the northeastern French region's famous sparkling wine have seen only benefits from rising temperatures so far.

The 1.2 degrees centigrade increase in temperatures in the region over the past 30 years has reduced frost damage. It has also added one degree in the level of alcohol and reduced acidity, making it easier to comply with strict production rules, according to champagne makers group CIVC.

"The Champagne region and Germany are among the northerly vineyards which have managed to develop thanks to warmer weather," Jean-Marc Touzard, coordinator of a program on wine and climate change at French research institute INRA.

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Editor: Global warming may be good for champagne producers .... but their prices are still high.