Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Black Chalk enters Japanese market

Published: 06 August, 2020

English wine producer Black Chalk has secured distribution in Japan in a move driven by Black Chalk director and investor, Kenya Matsumoto.

Hattingley releases still red wine

Published: 30 July, 2020

Hattingley Valley has added a Pinot Noir to its recently launched still wine range.

Cellar Trends strengthens portfolio with Beau Joie

Published: 29 July, 2020

Drinks distributor Cellar Trends has strengthened its sparkling portfolio with the addition of Beau Joie Champagne as part of its UK growth strategy.

2020 Wine GB Awards gets underway

Published: 20 July, 2020

Wine GB has kickstarted the 2020 edition of its wine awards, with judging taking place throughout this week.

Producers of Prosecco Superiore vote to reduce production

Published: 14 July, 2020

Consorzio of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG this week approved a decision by its members to reduce the yields for the 2020 harvest to avoid over-supply.

Winetraders adds first Portuguese producer

Published: 04 June, 2020

Winetraders has added Quinta da Pedra Alta to its portfolio, marking the company’s first Portuguese producer.

Alcohol to not rebound globally until 2024

Published: 26 May, 2020

It will take five years for the global alcohol category to get back to pre-Covid health, the IWSR has predicted, with double digit declines expected to the hit the category this year.

Pandemic is officially “Bad for beer, better for spirits and wine”

Published: 15 May, 2020

Beer and cider were hard-hit in the 2008/9 economic crisis, suffering from a combination of duty rises, an on-trade slump and increased at-home consumption, all of which tend to favour spirits and wine.

Living with lockdown - Freixenet Copestick

Published: 21 April, 2020

Damian Clarke, MD at Freixenet Copestick, gives Lisa Riley a glimpse of the realities of life as a wholesaler adjusting to lockdown.

Campari to buy majority stake in Champagne Lallier

Published: 20 April, 2020

Campari Group has announced it is in talks with privately owned French company Sarl Ficoma to buy a majority stake in Champagne Lallier.

Freixenet unveils Italian still wine collection

Published: 05 April, 2020

Freixenet Copestick has launched its first range of still Italian wine in the UK to build on the success of the company’s Prosecco and sparkling Italian rosé.

Friday read: Teutonic sparkle

Published: 03 April, 2020

Despite a decline in German domestic consumption of its native bubbly sekt - per capita quaffing has dropped since 2010 from 3.9 to 3.3 litres - attention to quality, both individually and collectively, has never been greater.

Sparkling dominates online wine searches

Published: 30 March, 2020

Nearly half of all wine-related online searches in the UK are for sparkling wine, according to new research from Italian wine specialists Independent Wine.

Fox & Fox renews focus and steps up production

Published: 14 February, 2020

Fox & Fox has announced plans to double its capacity as part of a new strategy to focus expressly on "wine making and marketing".

Friday Read: Price and vintage in Champagne

Published: 31 January, 2020

To the untrained eye, little has changed in the world of Champagne marketing. The Grande Marques, endowed with lavish budgets, continue to position themselves at the most glamorous events. Vintages are declared and the well-oiled marketing machine continues to roll.

Nicolas Feuillatte pinpoints no/low as key rival for Champagne

Published: 27 January, 2020

Nicolas Feuillatte has pinpointed the burgeoning no/low category as a key rival for the Champagne market going forward.

Jerry Lockspeiser: The essential Christmas gift for every wine entrepreneur

Published: 20 December, 2019

About twenty years ago I tried to sell a sparkling wine from Italy that was almost unknown in the UK market. We were a significant supplier to the major retailers and worked closely with them on new product development ideas, from lesser known grape varieties, regions and countries, to new styles and packaging for better-known wines. My Italian sparkling wine was from a medium sized organic producer whose wines we had won listings for, but the buyers felt that it was not well known enough in our market and wouldn’t sell. It was, of course, Prosecco.