Strange as it may seem, the French people have been a little reticent in their purchase of one of the nation’s best known spirits. Of course, the global recession, or ‘crise’ as it’s called in France, affected sales of cognac here as it did throughout the world. However, the home market has been suffering for some time as for some reason the French turned away from one of their national products.

But 2010 has seen a significant rise in cognac sales in pretty much every region of the globe, and France was no exception. Whilst Asia and the USA (NAFTA) market account for 33.2% and 32.2% respectively, Europe accounts for 30.5%. The French market alone rose by a massive 18.3% in the year 2010 according to figures from the BNIC which were released on Wednesday January 19 2011.
Of course, this is an extremely positive result for the cognac producers, and for France itself. Let’s hope that 2011 proves to be even stronger.
Sources: www.menageremag.com, harpers.co.uk