Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

New £30m support for Welsh hospitality and leisure

Published: 03 March, 2021

The Welsh government has unveiled a £30m support package for hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Budget: Chancellor freezes all alcohol duty

Published: 03 March, 2021

Duty on wines, spirits and beers is to be frozen, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in today’s Budget.

Average of 30 licensed premises closing a day

Published: 01 March, 2021

Nearly 12,000 licensed premises have closed in Britain since December 2019 — an average of around 30 a day and the highest rate on record, according to the latest Market Recovery Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners.

Black Chalk and Wine GB recreate social media push

Published: 25 February, 2021

Jacob Leadley, CEO and winemaker of Black Chalk, and Wine GB have announced plans for this year’s Easter weekend initiative to support the English wine industry.

Westminster brings back alfresco scheme

Published: 25 February, 2021

Westminster City Council has announced that it will reintroduce last summer’s alfresco scheme to help the hospitality sector.

Hospitality leaders show long-term optimism

Published: 25 February, 2021

Hospitality leaders are optimistic about the long-term future of the sector and its role in the UK’s economic recovery, with many businesses seeking to grow rather than shrink, the latest CGA Business Leaders' Survey has revealed.

Wine most popular online drinks purchase

Published: 24 February, 2021

Wine has been pinpointed as the most popular e-commerce purchase during the Covid pandemic.

Consumer desire for sustainable wine waning

Published: 18 February, 2021

Consumer desire for sustainable and alternative wines is waining, despite awareness of the majority of such wine types having increased since 2019, according to a new report.

VieVinum postponed to 2022

Published: 18 February, 2021

The organisers of Austrian wine fair VieVinum has announced that this year’s event has been postponed to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hospitality not 'significant area' of Covid transmission

Published: 17 February, 2021

Hospitality businesses were not "significant areas" of Covid transmission in 2020 and should be central to reopening plans in 2021, according to new research by CGA, commissioned by UK Hospitality (UKH).

Covid propels delivered drinks market into the mainstream

Published: 16 February, 2021

Lockdown is giving the on-trade and suppliers a chance to claim share of the delivered drinks market from supermarkets, according to CGA’s latest consumer research.

A duty to industry

Published: 15 February, 2021

Will the chancellor address the continuing controversy over punishing duty rates in the wine and spirits sectors in the 3 March Budget? Lisa Riley reports.

Extra SA fundraising tasting due to demand

Published: 11 February, 2021

Love Wine, co-founded by Richard Bampfield MW, has added an additional day to its virtual fundraising tasting initiative launched in aid of the South African wine industry.

UK Port sales rising

Published: 11 February, 2021

Port sales to the UK increased by 11.4% in volume and 2.8% in value in 2020, according to the Port and Douro Wines Institute (IVDP).

Water brand launches in aid of The Drinks Trust

Published: 11 February, 2021

Trust Water, a premium water brand, has been launched by hospitality experts Mark Bickerton and Richard Bailey.

Pandemic fails to halt UK distillery boom

Published: 09 February, 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to halt the UK’s distillery boom with new figures showing a record number of distilleries were registered in 2020.

Oxford Wine Company launches tourism platform

Published: 09 February, 2021

The Oxford Wine Company (OWC) has launched a wine tourism platform aimed at making wineries "accessible to everybody".

Chapel Down to place Curious Drinks into administration

Published: 09 February, 2021

Chapel Down is to dispose of its Curious Drinks business to a NewCo, established by private equity firm Risk Capital Partners (RCP).

Vinpro awaits confirmation of new court date

Published: 08 February, 2021

Vinpro has said it now awaits confirmation of a new expedited court date in its battle to avoid any future disruptions to the South African wine industry and its value-chain.