SIMONIT&SIRCH CONSULTANT OF HENNESSY,
COGNAC WORLD LEADER
Collaboration is part of the Maison’s policy
to fight vine trunk diseases.
After Château d’Yquem, Moët & Chandon and Terrazas de los Andes,
S&S sign the fourth prestigious collaboration with the LVMH group.
From the great Maison of wine to cognac. The SIMONIT&SIRCH group has been called as a consultant by Hennessy, the cognac world leader. Based in Cognac, in the West of France, Hennessy was founded in 1765. Today the Maison, which belongs to the LVMH luxury group, is the first producer of cognac in the world.
Maison Hennessy has been engaged for many years in research to combat trunk diseases. This commitment develops on two horizons. Long term: the Maison is associated with INRA-Bordeaux Sciences Agro and Agence Nationale de la Recherche through the Unité Mixte de Recherche SAVE Santé & Agréologie du Vignoble. This project, started in 2015, was expanded and consolidated in 2016 with the creation of a GTDfree task force to find the best cultivation practices (including the best pruning) to reduce trunk diseases. Short and medium term: Hennessy is experimenting with new pruning practices on its 180 hectares of vineyards that limit the onset of wood diseases. The purpose is twofold: to test and validate them and, at the same time, to transfer them on the field to the vineyards’staff. Over time, the goal is to make the techniques here tested available to the Maison’s 1,600 vinegrowers
SIMONIT&SIRCH has been supporting Maison Hennessy for three years in pruning the Ugni Blanc vines, from the distillation of the grapes whose cognac comes from. This vine, equivalent to the Italian Trebbiano Toscano and cultivated in the Charente, is particularly sensitive to trunk diseases and in particular Esca. The group operates on two levels. Development and research of a pruning method that allows to strengthen the vines to reduce the onset of trunk diseases: the team intervenes, mainly from December to February, both to define the pruning method to be implemented and to train pruners. Participation in projects aimed at devising the management of new vineyards in the context of current climate change.
“I am very honored that the Hennessy Maison call us – says Marco Simonit, CEO SIMONIT&SIRCH – and I thank the LVMH group, which invests more and more in its extraordinary vine heritage protection. After Château d’Yquem, Moët & Chandon and Terrazas de los Andes, we are fortunate to have collaborated for three years with the Maison Hennessy. ”
SIMONIT&SIRCH
Founded about thirty years ago by the Italians Marco Simonit and Pierpaolo Sirch, with headquarters in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and branches in Bordeaux, Napa Valley, South Africa, SIMONIT&SIRCH is the only international group specialized and accredited in the manual vine pruning training. The team works in the main wine-growing districts of the world, where it is a consultant to 150 of the most prestigious companies and collaborates with many of the most renowned wine research institutes and universities. It teaches the SIMONIT&SIRCH branch pruning method (which reduces the devastating impact that pruning wounds have on the vascular system of the plant due to the internal die back they cause), which can be adapted to all trellis systems/forms of vine growing. In 2009 it created the Italian Vine Pruning School, which now has around twenty locations. In 2016, in collaboration with the ISVV, he established the DUTE Diplôme Universitaire de Taille et Épamprage, the only university master in the world of pruning and shoot thinning selection. Marco Simonit has published two Vine Pruning Manuals, dedicated to Spurred Cordon and Guyot. The French version of the latter, “Guide pratique de la taille Guyot – Prévenir les maladies du bois”, in 2018 won the OIV 2018 International Award in the Viticulture section.
MAISON HENNESSY
Leader in the cognac sector, Maison Hennessy has been shining worldwide for over 250 years with exceptional know-how. Born from the conquering spirit of its founder Richard Hennessy, the brand is present in over 160 countries. Anchored in the heart of the Charente, the Maison is also an important and committed protagonist of the regional economy and is fully involved in promoting the cognac sector. The success and longevity of the house are based on the quality of its cognac, derived from a process that is handed down from generation to generation, unique in its kind. The first ISO 14001 certified liqueur production house in 1998, Maison Hennessy mobilizes its ability to innovate and all its partners, protagonists of the supply chain, to preserve this exceptional terroir. Flagship of the LVMH group, it is one of the main French exporting companies. It exports 99% of its production and contributes to the importance of France internationally.
Information – SIMONIT&SIRCH – www.simonitesirch.it – info@simonitesirch.it – Tel. +39 0432.752417
Press office – AGORA’ di Marina Tagliaferri – www.studio-agora.it – agora@studio-agora.it – Tel +39 0481.62385
