Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

The comeback kid

Published: 23 July, 2008

Sherry is making a comeback! These are the words the Sherry Institute and the gang from Jerez have been trying to put on the UK street for the past decade, and still the fight goes on.

It's 10pm on a Friday night. The bar is packed and a client slurs three large vodkas' to the bartender. Serving the group will take them to dangerously high levels of alcohol, but saying no' will antagonise them, and in the mood they're in, God knows what they'll do. It's tempting to give the nearest a gentle shove and then watch them fall, domino-style, to the floor, a flaying mass of flesh and booze.

Boom time is over

Published: 23 July, 2008

It was one of the UK's more dubious exports: a fleet of white vans whose drivers' total experience of our Gallic neighbour's country was the short drive from the ferry terminal to a pile-it-high' cash-and-carry.

David Morgan-Hewitt: Managing director, The Goring, London

Published: 23 July, 2008

You started off in public relations and now you're the managing director of one of London's flagship hotels. How did that happen?

Distance Selling

Published: 23 July, 2008

Distance selling is not a recent innovation in the wine trade. Years ago, the lord of the manor would have asked his butler to contact his local wine merchant and place an order. And then, some time later, a coach and horses would arrive with the wine and the deal was done. A primitive form of mail order maybe, but mail order just the same.

South West France - A Sense of Unity

Published: 23 July, 2008

At a time when France is under attack for the lack of a cohesive approach to the problems it has in many of its major wine appellations, it's good to be able to report on a region where disparate factions have come together for the common good. Especially in the wake of the EU proposals to cut wine over-production, which many producers in France see as a threat to a way of life that has shaped the French countryside.

THE INTERVIEW - Alan Burns

Published: 23 July, 2008

The Wild Bergamot Restaurant & Lounge
1 Hillhead Street
Milngavie
Glasgow G62 8AF
Scotland
Tel: 0141 956 6515
www.thewildbergamot.co.uk

After ten years as an army chef, Alan Burns worked in several five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants before opening his own place in Milngavie. He recently changed the name of his restaurant from Gingerhill to The Wild Bergamot and it was named as Glasgow's Restaurant of the Year 2006 by The List magazine.

Key suppliers: Inverarity Vaults, Alexander Wines, Strathardle Fine Wines, Justerini & Brooks.

The House that Jack and the Johns built

Published: 23 July, 2008

After one hundred years of trading, the House of Townend is celebrating this year. It all began with Hull Kingston Rovers' star Jack Townend taking a pub tenancy - the youngest licensee in Hull at the time - and then starting to bottle Guinness on the side.

Quality drinks conference

Published: 23 July, 2008

Heavily discounted branded wines and high government taxation are putting the future quality of wine sold in the UK in peril according to Jon Moromarco, chief executive officer, Constellation Europe, who was speaking at a leading drinks conference in London last month (June).

Transports of Delight

Published: 23 July, 2008

There are so many ways to answer this question that it is a struggle to know where to begin. But let's start with the most animal instinct of all: self-preservation. And let's start not with consumers, but with retailers.

The best-selling take home drinks, according to AC Nielsen

Published: 23 July, 2008

The leading alcoholic drinks brands may have retained their positions in the market but this AC Nielsen results show that the UK take-home drinks trade is currently going through some subtle, but surprising changes.

John Power Head Sommelier, Prestonfield

Published: 23 July, 2008

Prestonfield
Priestfield Road
Edinburgh EH16 5UT
Tel: 0131 662 2305
www.prestonfield.com

John Power began his career at the five-star Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, where he trained as a sommelier before moving to the Witchery by the Castle in 1998. Earlier this year he took on the new role of central wine buyer for all of James Thompson's Edinburgh restaurants, including the Witchery by the Castle, Tower restaurant in the Museum of Scotland and Rhubarb at the five-star Prestonfield hotel, where he is now based.

Key suppliers: Raeburn Fine Wine, Cheviot Wine, Corney & Barrow, Justerini & Brooks, Fine & Rare Wines.

The Interview: Matthieu Garros, Head sommelier, Umu, London

Published: 23 July, 2008

How have you got your head around so many different saks?
When I first arrived I was a bit scared, to be honest. I knew as much about sak as most Europeans do: absolutely nothing. There is a perception that saks are really alcoholic, or that they all taste the same, but this is complete rubbish, you can find many different sorts of sak. For eaxample, Mukantei Ginjo from Kikusui brewery is more about high acidity and freshness to go with sushi. However, if you are eating toro, the fatty belly of the tuna, you need a sak with texture to fight it, such as Momo Shizuku, from the Matsumoto brewery.

Ian Dunkerley, chef/proprietor, Dunkerleys

Published: 23 July, 2008

How did you get started?
I was born in Ashford (Kent) but then
we moved to Cyprus, because my father worked with the army. He became ill and died, so we returned initially to Deal but then moved to Ashford. It was full of London overspill so it was a tough environment. To keep out of trouble, I did two paper rounds, worked in a sweet shop and in a fish and chip shop - I used to have a barrow at Ashford station and served Bill Deedes (the Conservative MP and former editor of the Daily Telegraph).

ITALY: Islandfever

Published: 23 July, 2008

Sicily is technically a region of Italy, but really it stands alone. The island has been invaded by so many cultures over the years - Asians, African, Europeans - that it has its own brand of cosmopolitan charm that transcends the Italian canopy.
As a community, Sicily is virtually self-sufficient, and its main income has traditionally been agricultural exports. Dramatic mountain ranges slice through much of the landscape, with Mount Etna as their ruler, and, not surprisingly, considering that Sicily has a number of hectares under vine comparable to that of the whole of Australia, vineyards are never far from sight.

Islay be back

Published: 23 July, 2008

ARDBEG
News: Ardbeg's cult following by peat freaks is set to continue, with a raft of single malt releases for 2006. (Single malt bottlings have increased to 70% of distillery production since manager Stuart Thompson's arrival nine years ago).

State of the Wine Nation

Published: 23 July, 2008

The messages from Enotria, land of wine, have been largely grim since 2002, so it is encouraging to report that a sunnier aspect appears to be emerging.

ITALY: Vintage Italia

Published: 23 July, 2008

If you believe that you can trust a chart to get a fair impression of any vintage, then you must be somewhat naive; and if you think you can use one to understand an Italian vintage, then you are seriously out of touch.

ITALY: Romagna Rising

Published: 23 July, 2008

When it's time for bottling, Enrico Drei Don wheels his lovingly restored Fiat 500 out of his family's winery and the rented bottling line is rolled in to take its place. As passionate a student of cars as he is of wine in all its dimensions, he is able to illuminate the inner workings of a carburettor with the same ease as he does the geopolitical boundaries of his native Emilia-Romagna, and in near-flawless English.

ITALY: Talking Italian

Published: 23 July, 2008

Chairman:
Anthony Rose, The Independent
Panellists:
Alberto Antonini, producer and consultant; Tony Brown MW, product manager for Italy, Spain and Portugal, Meridian Wines; Peter McCombie MW, consultant; Simon Thorpe MW, purchasing director, Western Wines
Sponsor:
Claudio Gamberotto, CAVIT