Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Canned Wine Group: Acquisition boosts draught wine offer

Published: 20 October, 2026

Alternative packaging business the Canned Wine Group has announced its acquisition of New Theory – a South African low-intervention wine brand.

Domaine Bousquet launches first ever orange wine

Published: 12 October, 2026

Leading Argentinian organic winery Domaine Bousquet has announced the launch of Native, a new range of natural wines which contains Bousquet’s first ever orange wine – a 100% Torrontes created with skin-contact maceration.

Natural plateau: Can the low-intervention category stymie stagnation?

Published: 10 March, 2026

Natural wine has grown massively over the past couple of decades, moving from a niche product drunk only in a handful of ‘cool’ venues, to a much wider, and more well-known, phenomenon. A survey by the IWSR found that in 2024, 31% of regular wine drinkers were aware of natural wine (up five percentage points in three years). However, despite expectations that natural wine will continue to grow well into the future, some in the industry are beginning to think that the category is running out of steam.

The heady future of wine labels

Published: 19 December, 2025

How do you design the perfect, catch-all wine label for the 21st-century consumer? A young start-up may well crave contemporary shock value, but Château Lafite is unlikely to embrace funky designs and psychedelic script when its brand equity depends on projecting notions of heritage and storied prestige. The visual language of yesterday – cursive fonts, textured paper and stately imagery – still has an important role to play in a world where consumer expectations vary significantly.

Q&A: Vanessa Stoltz, head sommelier, Restaurant Pine

Published: 18 November, 2025

Vanessa Stoltz, restaurant manager and head sommelier, Restaurant Pine, speaks to Oliver Catchpole about what it takes to run a sustainable wine list

Soapbox: Natural progression

Published: 13 November, 2025

Paul Morgan, co-owner of Hove’s outstanding Fourth & Church wine bar, explains his preference for gentle introduction and guidance over hard dogma when it comes to more ‘natural’-leaning wine.

Doug Wregg: ‘Looking Back, Forging Ahead’

Published: 08 August, 2025

For the next edition of our Summer Q&A series Doug Wregg, director of sales and marketing at Les Caves de Pyrene, contemplates what has been a challenging year for the wine trade.

Doug Wregg: ‘Looking Back, Forging Ahead’

Published: 16 August, 2024

We continue our summer Q&A series with Doug Wregg, sales and marketing director at Les Caves de Pyrene.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is a key marketing tool hiding in plain sight?

Published: 17 July, 2024

During the 1990’s my business sold millions of bottles of great value Hungarian wines to the UK’s supermarkets. The wines were made under the guidance of a young Australian winemaker whose hands on approach ensured they bristled with ripe fruit flavours. Retailing at the equivalent of £6-£8 at today’s prices they went down a storm in the high-volume part of the burgeoning wine market.

Multiples: The rise of low-intervention wine

Published: 17 July, 2023

Interest in organic and natural wine is growing. James Bayley asks why more can’t be found in supermarkets.

‘Minimal’ approach majors at Deep Down Under

Published: 24 May, 2023

A panoply of minimal intervention styles, from the 100% natural to a range of ‘hands-off’ products, put the spotlight on the very sharpest examples of Australia’s cutting-edge winemaking at Monday’s (22 May) Deep Down Under tasting.

Soapbox: Natural wine – a murderous funk?

Published: 16 March, 2023

Amphora Cambridge owner Cong Cong Bo takes a low intervention swipe at the faddish addiction to the word ‘natural’ in wine.

Empire Empire

Published: 13 March, 2023

16 All Saints Road, London W11 1HH

Hastings poised to launch natural wine festival

Published: 10 August, 2022

An eight day celebration of minimum-intervention winemaking is due to take place in Hastings this September, organised by restaurant owners Ben and Kate Norum.

Virtual festival dedicated to ‘low-intervention’ wine launches this weekend

Published: 29 November, 2021

France’s only female Master of Wine has launched a new virtual wine festival Alive!, due to take place on 5 and 6 December.

Natural wine experts launch wine school

Published: 04 August, 2021

Provisions, the north London natural wine experts and cheese specialist, is launching its own wine school.

Lockdown heroes: Top Cuvée

Published: 07 January, 2021

Top Cuvée’s story is like many others in 2020. A restaurant forced to close, hard decisions to be made, while leaning into other parts of the business in order to bump through furlough and intermittent lockdowns. However, like so many, there’s another story beneath. For Top Cuvée, 2020 has been an exercise in pure agility, with its co-founders having to pedal – quite literally, in some instances – from one new venture to the next in a bid to keep the lights on.