|
Pioneers of The Absinthe Renaissance answer Frances call….. |
|
La Fée Absinthe [ George Rowley, brand owner ] & Le Musée de l’Absinthe [ Marie-Claude Delahaye, founder ] answer the FFS (Fédération Française des Spiritueux - French Federation of Spirits) emergency call to defend France’s inherent right to distil Absinthe; against a seemingly politically and commercially driven Swiss ploy to control the Absinthe category.
View The Dossier HERE
As Swiss distillers attempt to gain exclusive rights to the name ‘Absinthe’ using domestic Swiss IPG - geographical protection (similar to AOC law) - George Rowley & Marie-Claude Delahaye raced to Paris for crisis talks with Marie-Delphine Benech (Chairperson of the FFS) to assist in the FFS counter.
On the 15th of April 2010 the FFS held its first meeting on Absinthe for domestic French producers, George Rowley handed over a dossier of evidence cataloging domestic French Absinthe distilling back to 2000 (with La Fée Absinthe Parisienne, the first legally distilled traditional absinthe in France since the 1915 ban and starting point of the French Absinthe Renaissance). This predates any legal Swiss Renascence production by 5 years, as records show Swiss absinthe production did not resume until 2005.
The presented dossier ( see links ) showing approval for La Fée Absinthe Parisienne in France in 2000. This appears to be the oldest approval from French authorities, and so the starting point of the French Absinthe Renaissance (25th May 2000). This will form a crucial element of the objections to the Swiss application, and also to any action taken via the EU by Swiss producers. Pernod-Ricard are also assisting in this rally against the proposed Swiss IPG (Geographic Protected Indication).
The proposed Swiss IPG for Absinthe only becomes a serious issue once the Swiss try to enforce any such IPG across the EU via the EEA (European Economic Area). Should this approach be adopted by Swiss authorities (as commercially driven by a handful of distillers in the Val de Travers region) it would have a detrimental effect on the rest of the world’s appreciation of true absinthe; which recognizes France’s historic rights to this category. This ‘right’ is shared by both nations and neither has sole rights to the name Absinthe.
La Fée is continuing to work directly with the FFS in their mediations with the Swiss and the EEA over the coming year, looking to ensure the Swiss distillers, as late arrivers to the Absinthe renaissance, do not impact on France’s emerging absinthe industry and thereby protecting French jobs for the future.
The unfortunate loss of selling French Absinthe in Switzerland, though we believe to be morally wrong, is insignificant in global terms – historically 90% of global pre ban absinthe sales were of French (Verte/Green) Absinthe, not Swiss (Blanche/Clear). The remaining 10% would have been predominantly sold in Switzerland. Absinthe had gained huge notoriety in the post colonial French Empire – with all echelons of society succumbing to the Green Fairy – Paris was the hub of Absinthe culture. Today the ratio is still weighted heavily in favour of French / Verte Absinthe and if La Fee’s global sales over the last decade are anything to go by, the weighting is even more in favor of French / Verte absinthe.
La Fée’s supporting evidence from both our French & Swiss distillations should ensure such a travesty of justice as suggested is not only countered, but ideally reversed to allow the sale of both French and Swiss absinthe around the World [including Switzerland ].
View The Dossier HERE
For Media and Press: To contact George Rowley or Marie-Claude Delahaye, please email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call +44 (0)1992 511 445
For Media and Press: To contact the FFS, please email for the attention of Chairperson Marie-Delphine Benech
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
, and we will forward to her FFS email.
|
|
|
La Fée Celebrates 10 Years since returning Traditional Absinthe Distilling to France
On the 25th of July 2010 La Fée celebrates the 10 year anniversary of returning the distilling of traditional absinthe to France, launched on the same date in 2000 at the Groucho Club in Soho, London. This paved the way for the French & Swiss Absinthe Renaissance which we are experiencing today.
In 1999 two of the most influential pioneers in the field of absinthe; Englishman George Rowley & Frenchwoman Marie Claude Delahaye joined their expertise and employed a Parisian distiller in the returning of legally distilled traditional absinthe to France for the first time since the 1915 ban. Rowley had previously introduced absinth to Europe from the Czech Republic in 1998 – setting the precedent for the spirit in the EU. Delahaye, a cellular biologist at the Marie Curie University as well as the founder of Le Musée de l’Absinthe, Auvers-Sur-Oise, France.
And so, after overcoming legal boundaries and sourcing a 19th Century recipe from Le Musée de l’Absinthe – La Fée returned the Green Fairy to her spiritual homeland. After ten years distilling our award winning Traditional French Absinthe, our Paris based operation is further expanding the absinthe category across Europe, the Americas & Asia-Pacific; with La Fée currently available in over 30 countries. La Fée also distil ultra premium Absinthe in France and Switzerland.
 
Commercial EU authorisation, triggering the absinthe renaissance. Drafted in Bayford - signed 21.07.1998. Original document censored for commercial reasons and Rowley & Delahaye working on development of La Fée.
Absinthe is once again becoming a common word in day to day vocabulary – in bars and restaurants to wider appreciation of 19th Century culture. Since La Fée rejuvenated the Absinthe category there has been a surge of interest from the film industry, authors and consumers; with La Fée offering a window back to the impressionist period so famed for its love of Absinthe. (Picasso’s Absinthe Drinker has recently sold at Christie’s for $31m).
  
‘La Fée captures the aroma and taste that great writers such as Rimbaud, Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent Van Gogh enjoyed at the end of the 19th Century’
Marie-Claude Delahaye
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
La Fée LIVE: The future of Absinthe education for the trade |
|
La Fée LIVE is the first dedicated online Absinthe bar training facility in the world.
La Fée is excited to roll out this new, clean and green technology to further educate our partners, their clients and consumers during the coming decade. Our unique media bar is custom-built for brand training, development and awareness. Changing the way sales teams are trained today, harmonising new technology for sales teams training to that associated with management video conferencing. Having laid hundreds of metres of fibre-optic and CAT5 cable to a unique bar with permanent multi camera installations & flat screen monitors, we can now offer seamless communication with any partner signed up to our service across Europe, the Americas & Asia-Pacific.
We now offer dedicated interactive online absinthe training sessions from our UK HQ: In partnership with our global distributors we aim to directly train sales teams with live sessions and offer full seminars and interviews – all in real-time. At a moment’s notice we can arrange live and interactive sessions to any location world-wide.
The bespoke system is designed to suit the needs of our distribution partners, with face to face communication; no travel time, great flexibility in arranging sessions and instant access to our expertise - all whilst greatly reducing travel related carbon emissions. This will allow for more direct investment in supporting our clients. Already Vinopolis, World Duty Free and Glazer’s Family of Companies have expressed interest in utilising this technology, as we look to offer regular weekly training to our key industry partners.
The dedicated system has been built to give La Fée the ability to train, converse and give interviews the world over at very short notice, taking communication with the brand to a new and dynamic level. Testing of the media platform has been carried out with Cellar Trends (UK) and is soon to commence with Glazer’s of Missouri & Glazer’s of Ohio (USA) & Think Spirits (Asia-Pacific).
If you would like to arrange an interview with La Fée brand owner George Rowley from the La Fée LIVE training facility please email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 0044 (0)1992 511 445
La Fée is dramatically expanding from its European home across the USA and into Asia-Pacific. As a consequence it is clearly impossible to maintain the level of education we would wish using traditional methods. Our dedicated team can now be in two places at once, thanks to utilising this new, exciting & far greener technology - clearly the future for training in the spirits industry. George Rowley, 12th July 2010
|
|
|
