Since Boutinot picked up Moreno Wines, the latter’s agile pairing of Hamish Robertson and Nick Groszek has driven impressive growth at this reinvigorated importer. Andrew Catchpole charts the change.
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‘Net Zero’, ‘Carbon reduction’, ‘Sustainability’, and ‘Offsetting’ – all good stuff and we’re now used to bandying these terms around like they’re going out of fashion. But whilst brands are waxing lyrical about their green credentials and how they’re busy saving the planet, how many actually are?
Whether intentionally or not, more than a few drinks brands at best ‘polishing’ their green credentials to look better than they are – and some are just lying. Beyond misleading conscious consumers and reaping undeserved competitive advantages, it pisses me off, because it’s actively halting the industry’s Net Zero progress which is where we should be placing our focus.
Areni Global, a think tank dedicated to the future of fine wine, has released a ground-breaking report examining the major threats, and opportunities, facing the sector today.
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Joff Curtoys, founder and creative director of Sloemotion Distillery, explains why copper stills are the spirit industry’s dirty little climate secret.
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Oh dear, perhaps it was always too much to hope for. The embarrassment of the country being led by a self-serving clown has finally timed out, but the opportunity for serious politics to be rehabilitated looks certain to be missed.
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The whisky industry is still suffering from a prevailing “laddish culture” by some consumers and members of the trade who see female employees as a “novelty”, the head of Penderyn’s distillery operations has said.
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The organiser's of the second edition of Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) have unveiled an eclectic programme of events, including masterclasses and presentations led by renowned personalities in the world of wine.
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With much of its current viticultural activity already adjusting to a changing climate, Australia’s wine industry is fast progressing with its sustainability programmes.
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With time fast ticking, Liberty Wines director of insights & business development, Alex Linsley, shares his company’s deep concerns around the government alcohol duty review, which is under consultation until 30 January 2022.
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The recent Bellavita London event hosted a panel – Sustainability in Wine, From Vineyard to Table – chaired by wine consultant Angela Mount, against the backdrop of COP26. The discussion was wide-ranging, featuring leader in sustainability in wine Muriel Chatel, MD of Borough Wines, plus key distributors including Kim Wilson, MD of North South Wines; Beverly Tabbron MW, head of training and education at Hallgarten & Novum Wines; Jon Carson, MD at C&C Wines; and Judith Candy, business development manager at Garçon wines. The debate covered many areas, with speakers asked to summarise their key message to the audience. From shedding a “silo mentality” to the need for a focus on the younger generation – “the future of wine” – by way of a strong call to action for the trade as a whole, these were their takeaway messages.
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There is no vaccine for the climate crisis, the OIV said last week as it put “extremely low” global production estimates for 2021 squarely at the door of climate change, as Jo Gilbert reports.
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Wine and spirits are, at their heart, agricultural products, albeit given the somewhat magical twist of fermentation or distillation. Which means that any adverse affect from climate change can and will filter through to the final product, literally under the consumer’s nose, rather than just remaining a more peripheral concern in the wider world. Producers of wine especially are increasingly aware of what was described as an “existential threat” to their livelihoods, as outlined at a recent International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) seminar in London.
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With COP26 pressing the urgency for action on climate crisis, Denomination’s CEO Rowena Curlewis stresses the need for producers to build change into their business strategies and examines what this means for packaging and identity.
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Lanchester Wines has called on businesses in the wine industry to commit to making changes to minimise the impact on the environment, arguing that being carbon neutral is only the beginning of the journey towards sustainability.
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With the buffeting the on-trade has received it’s hardly surprising that many are talking about ongoing change, as Andrew Catchpole asks what form that may take.
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Many decades ago, I studied economics at university. The difference between theory and practice bothered me. All too often the first didn’t seem to describe the latter, let alone explain it. The problem was usually people – they simply didn’t behave as the theory said they should.
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Michèle Shah charts the fortunes of grape variety reaching new heights, despite the challenge of climate change.
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Trepidation around tokenism and not taking the right tack on issues of diversity and inclusion is stopping greater strides being taken in workplaces, it was said at this morning’s London Wine Fair (LWF) session on equal opportunities in the wine trade.
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Asda has unveiled a major change in the setup of its wine aisles by becoming the first major UK supermarket to group all wine by grape instead of by country.
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Looking ahead to a receding pandemic, our recent How to Forge the Best Relationship with Suppliers round table explored how suppliers and merchants can best work together to ensure that the needs of old, new and evolved channels of business can be best capitalised upon and maximised. Andrew Catchpole rounds up the key takeaways
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