Tim Atkin MW: ‘Fine wine’ is outdated

It was a noble, if ultimately inconclusive exercise. Maybe that’s true of anything that involves an indigestible dose of subjectivity. But you can’t fault Areni Global for attempting to define and “rethink” the fine wine market, no less. In a recent white paper, accompanied by an entertaining panel debate and tasting at Sotheby’s in London, the impressive think tank set out to analyse what its chair, Nicole Rolet, calls the “fine wine ecosystem”. Ambitious, as I said.

Harpers Sustainability Charter Spotlight: Chris Millson, Direct Wines

As 2023’s first new signatory to Harpers Sustainability Charter, Direct Wines’ head of sustainability Chris Millson talks Andrew Catchpole through the necessity of progress.

Friday read: Not a match – why is sherry failing to find its groove?

November and December is the time when fortifieds come out to play. At least, they do in the press. Probably 90% of port and sherry’s column inches occur in the month before Christmas.

Nick Gillett: Regulating spirits – a system with no sense

I like to think I’m a man with common sense. Yet, when I look at the stifling, strangling system of regulations we face as an industry in the UK, I see absolutely zero of it.

Nick Gillett: Greenwashing – are you looking a little grubby?

‘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.

Five minutes with Alex Brogan, Plumpton student

Jo Gilbert catches up with Alex Brogan about his collective winemaking venture, where customers can vote on every step of the winemaking process.

Long Read: The new language of spirits

As the spirits sector negotiates new drinking habits and different generational needs, there’s been much talk about how brand design has had to change. But what about the words? Jamie Thorp, writer at verbal branding agency Reed Words, looks at how the language of spirits is evolving, too.

Five minutes with Teresa Heuzenroeder, Petaluma Wines

Teresa Heuzenroeder, senior winemaker at Petaluma Wines, talks to Andrew Catchpole about the marked differences on dealing with the world’s most celebrated whites – Riesling and Chardonnay – as a winemaker.

Tim Atkin MW: Albariño under a cloud

In English, it’s just drizzle. In Spanish, it’s more graphic. The literal translation of ‘calabobos’ is something that soaks fools. Rather than a downpour – the sort of weather that sends you scurrying for a doorway – it’s the kind of rain you barely notice, the stuff that drenches your clothes, drip by drip by drip.

Tim Atkin MW: Rising from the ashes

Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin, Spearhead Spirits

Having launched their all-African Bayab gin range and Vusa vodka – and with more to come – Spearhead Spirits founders and friends Chris Frederick and Damola Timeyin talk Andrew Catchpole through their mission to put African spirits at the top table

From ‘demonised’ White Lyan to international entrepreneur – how Ryan Chet grew an empire

Ryan Chetiyawardana, better known by alias Mr Lyan, says his first launch, White Lyan, was branded as a heretical concept by his peers and ‘demonised’ when it launched back in 2013 for its left-field approach to cocktails. Fast forward nine years, and the British entrepreneur is on the cusp of launching Seed Library, which sees him come full circle to where it all began in East London.

Koshu: A distinctly Japanese elixir with a growing stable of styles

It’s difficult to gauge how much is known in the UK about the white wine grape Koshu. Hailing almost exclusively from Yamanashi prefecture’s Katsunuma region – the ‘birthplace’ of Japanese viticulture – the wine remains largely shrouded in mystery to the UK trade, despite Koshu of Japan’s faithful annual tastings.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Harpers

With Christmas almost upon us and 2022 chasing up behind, the Harpers team would like to wish all in the drinks trade a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Tim Atkin MW: Time for honesty about alcohol

“People like to masturbate.” As first sentences go, this one certainly snares your attention. It’s not the only remarkable thing about Edward Slingerland’s new book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced and Stumbled our Way to Civilization (£25, Little Brown, Spark). Nor is the author some ill-informed polemicist looking to generate a few headlines. Slingerland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia.

Profile: Fortune Fleming

A bullish Brett Fleming explains to Andrew Catchpole why Armit Wines is back with a bang, firmly focused on the high ground.

Soapbox: Why 2021’s skills shortage could be the best thing to happen to the hospitality industry

For many workers in hospitality, it’s not only low pay, but aggression and isolation that are the norm. It’s time to change things, says Simon King, former operations director for Gordon Ramsay Group and co-owner of new Surrey gastropub The Victoria Oxshott.

Tim Atkin MW: The new joy of travel

After 18 months of Zoom calls, Instagram Lives and home tastings, of Coravin capsules, small samples and endless recycling bags, I finally got to visit a wine region two weeks ago. To be strictly accurate, I did go on an inspirational visit to Danbury Ridge in Essex last year, squeezed in between lockdowns, but my trip to Ribera del Duero involved getting on a plane and flying to another country. Spain always lifts my spirits, but this time they soared.

Reasons to pick Riesling

Harpers partnered with Wines of Germany for its Big G closing debate, which mulled over the topic ‘A wine for all reasons: why German wine is the smart choice’. These extended highlights give a flavour of that far-reaching discussion and what indie retailers and restaurateurs alike can do to boost their German category sales. Andrew Catchpole reports.

Fladgate Partnership heralds return to “normal”, though warm winters and hail persist

The Fladgate Partnership has welcomed the return of normal weather conditions in the Douro, with a mild summer in 2021 allowing for differentiated ripening across vineyards and lending “flavour, elegance and natural acidity to the grapes”.