Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Virgin cans English fizz for Upper Class

Published: 04 April, 2022

One of the UK's leading airlines has joined forces with UK fizz brand, The Uncommon, to serve a range of canned sparkling wines in its premium cabins.

Chapel Down adds gin-making experience to its London venue

Published: 24 September, 2019

English fizz producer Chapel Down continues to expand its footprint in the gin category with a new range of gin-based experiences at its new London venue.

Chapel Down reports strong sales growth

Published: 30 May, 2019

Chapel Down has announced a 10% increase in total annual sales to £13 million boosted by a record-breaking harvest.

Taittinger to expand vineyard at Domaine Evremond

Published: 24 May, 2019

Champagne Taittinger is in the process of expanding its vineyard at Domaine Evremond, according to Hatch Mansfield's marketing director Lynn Murray.

Royal support for Ridgeview expansion

Published: 17 May, 2019

Ridgeview CEO Tamara Roberts and her team welcomed HRH Duchess of Cornwall yesterday for a tour of the estate as part of a Royal visit to cultural and gastronomic hot spots in East Sussex.

England triumphs in IWC

Published: 10 May, 2019

England’s winemakers scooped 11 Gold, 50 Silver and 60 Bronze medals in the International Wine Challenge (IWC), placing it ninth in the medals table. Ten of England’s 11 Gold medals were awarded to sparkling wines.

Waitrose adds first English ‘orange’ wine to menu

Published: 03 May, 2019

Waitrose has expanded its English wine menu with seven new offerings, including its first homegrown ‘orange’ wine.

Chapel Down creates England’s largest estate in Kent

Published: 29 April, 2019

Chapel Down has commenced planting at its 388 acre Boarley Farm site. Together with its Kit’s Coty and Boxley sites, Chapel Down will have a 620 acre estate of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier plantings to produce sparkling wine.

England sparkles in latest IWC round

Published: 28 November, 2018

Two English sparkling wines were awarded gold in the latest round of the International Wine Challenge (IWC).

Naked Wines launches crowdfunded English fizz from Simpsons

Published: 28 November, 2018

Naked Wines has launched its first crowdfunded English sparkling wine in collaboration with Simpsons Wine Estate.

Insights: Focus on fizz

Published: 06 November, 2018

Drawing on sparkling wine research carried out with Wines Direct, Harpers assesses the state of play

Chapel Down signs lease for new site to become ‘largest vineyard’ in England

Published: 06 September, 2018

Chapel Down has today exchanged on an agreement to lease 388 acres of viticultural land – a move it claims will make it the biggest vineyard in England.

Nyetimber reveals plans to grow exports

Published: 12 July, 2018

Nyetimber has revealed plans to expand its international reach with the aim growing its exports to 20% in the next 10 years.

Lack of centralised name for English wine ‘huge lost opportunity’

Published: 09 July, 2018

The lack of a centralised name for English wine has been described as a “huge lost opportunity” and has spurred on research to unveil how to fulfil the category’s potential.

Rathfinny appoints Hong Kong distributor

Published: 04 July, 2018

Rathfinny Wine Estates has appointed Jebsen Fine Wines as its exclusive distributor in Hong Kong.

Plumpton College introduces awareness day to highlight ‘light strike’ damage

Published: 20 June, 2018

Plumpton College has, in partnership with Sparkling Wine World Championship (CSWWC) and Nyetimber introduced a ‘light strike’ awareness day coinciding with summer solstice - the longest day of the year.

Wiston Estate signs up Swig Wines as London on-trade distributor

Published: 11 June, 2018

English winemaker Wiston Estate is looking to cash in on booming on-trade sales of domestic fizz with a new distribution deal with Swig Wines.

Ridgeview unveils contemporary new look

Published: 24 May, 2018

Ridgeview has given its English wine portfolio a makeover signalling a new direction for the brand.

Bibendum bolsters English wine portfolio with two new producers

Published: 10 May, 2018

Bibendum has bolstered its English wine portfolio with two new producers - Greyfriars and Litmus.

UK wine export set to soar

Published: 09 May, 2018

WineGB has set the bar high, predicting the value of UK wine exports could reach up to £350 million by 2040. That’s no mean feat with export accounting for just 5% of production in 2017 – a figure that is expected to rise to 25% by 2025.