Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

First wine produced outside Chile for Casillero del Diablo

Published: 24 March, 2021

Concha y Tora has expanded its Casillero del Diablo brand with a Spanish Tempranillo from Cariñena.

Year of shuttered restaurants and bars has left hospitality ‘shattered’

Published: 22 March, 2021

In the year since the first hospitality shutdown, the sector has taken a battering with more than eight months of closure delivering a heavy blow.

Champagne Gosset Matchmakers 2021 open for entries

Published: 22 March, 2021

Champagne Gosset is once again reaching out to chefs and sommeliers to take part in its annual Matchmakers competition and be in with a chance of winning an all expenses paid trip to its estate.

Register now: Think Insights 2021 – Spirits

Published: 22 March, 2021

There is still time to register for Harpers Think Insights 2021 – Spirits event, which takes place across the day on Wednesday 24 March, featuring many leading voices from the spirits, hospitality and indie worlds.

LWF launches Welcome Back Wednesday preview for on-trade re-opening

Published: 22 March, 2021

Organisers of the London Wine Fair (LWF) have announced that this year’s show will feature a special preview day aimed specifically at getting businesses back up and running in time for the slated reopening of the on-trade on 17 May.

Long Read: Orange wine leads the pack at the newly organic Cramele Recas

Published: 18 March, 2021

Cramele Recas, Romania’s largest winery, has reached a major landmark in its march towards organic winemaking, with its first certificated organic wines now reaching the UK.

Lambert and Beale take VI-1 fight onto Newsnight

Published: 18 March, 2021

Campaigning wine importer Daniel Lambert and the WSTA’s Miles Beale added further momentum to the wine trade’s calls to abolish the much-derided VI-1 forms during an appearance on the BBC’s flagship news programme on Wednesday eve.

Industry-supported 'blueprint' to support hospitality reopening

Published: 17 March, 2021

Members of the trade are being invited to have their say as part of a UK Hospitality (UKH) backed inquiry which aims to shore up long-term support for the on-trade once bars and restaurants reopen.

Fine wine: The new world of collectables

Published: 17 March, 2021

Fine wine investment enjoyed a growing reputation for resilience during the ups and downs of Covid. Chloe Ashton, COO at Wine Lister, takes a closer look at the evolution of this ever-changing market.

Nightcap eyes major lease expansion for LLC on the back of reduced rents

Published: 16 March, 2021

Hospitality group Nightcap has unveiled ambitious plans to expand London Cocktail Club (LCC), its first and newest acquisition, as the company aims to capitalise on a favourable property market and reduced rents.

All-star judging line up for Copa Jerez 2021 revealed

Published: 16 March, 2021

Sherry’s flagship culinary competition has announced the judges for this year’s edition, with Sarah Jane Evans MW, Matthieu Longuere MS, and Anna Haugh all due to appear in this year’s prestigious hot seat.

Think Insights day to deliver spirited agenda on drinks sector

Published: 15 March, 2021

Harpers and Drinks Retailing News readers are invited to join us for our Think Insights 2021 day of spirit-focused events on Wednesday 24 March.

UK craft brewery openings hit record levels

Published: 15 March, 2021

Flying in the face of on-trade closures during the pandemic, the number of craft breweries operating in the UK has reached levels not seen since 1930s.

Hospitality to help ‘reignite’ UK economy

Published: 15 March, 2021

Hospitality can play a critical role in rebooting the UK economy if it receives the necessary levels of support from government.

NZ: Selling sustainability

Published: 15 March, 2021

Clean and green but far from its markets, New Zealand is pushing for greater understanding around shipping-related emissions, as Andrew Catchpole reports.

Covid and Phylloxera – lessons for the wine trade

Published: 11 March, 2021

Sam Hellyer, head of wine and spirits at Chiswick Auctions, counts 10 years at Oddbins as part of a varied résumé where he headed up the Fine Wine branch in Oxford.

Scotch whisky tariffs suspended

Published: 04 March, 2021

The US has lifted tariffs on Scotch whisky for four months as leaders enter into negotiations to put a long-term solution in place.

Wine: a discombobulating ride?

Published: 04 March, 2021

Will we ever understand wine drinkers?

Basset legacy scholarships to tackle “shameful lack” of MW and MS diversity

Published: 03 March, 2021

Leading lights from the world of fine wine have announced plans to find the future BAME and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) hospitality leaders, by launching two new MS and MW scholarships which will be funded via a new glittering awards ceremony at London hotspot Annabel’s.

Cork’s march to ascendancy

Published: 25 February, 2021

Having removed much of the taint of TCA to cork’s reputation, the classic stopper continues to establish itself as a benchmark of quality, as James Lawrence reports.