Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Effects of climate change highlighted by new World Atlas of Wine

Published: 20 September, 2019

Climate change has transformed wine production globally, according to the latest edition of the World Atlas of Wine.

Bulk savings

Published: 02 September, 2019

Importing wine into the UK in bulk used to be all about saving money. Now it’s about saving the planet, too, as Simon Jack reports.

Sustainability: a transatlantic conversation with California Wines

Published: 13 August, 2019

Harpers and California Wine Institute hosted an insightful and far-reaching seminar at London’s Design Museum, delivering the core message that the wine world is well-placed to better engage consumers in supporting the true costs of advancing sustainability. Andrew Catchpole reports

Tim Atkin MW: Canary in the global coalmine

Published: 05 August, 2019

“Phew. What A Scorcher!” I’m old enough to remember June 1976, when we had 15 consecutive days above 32°C. The Sun’s headline captured some of the excitement I felt as a teenager. In those days British summers were frequently cool, overcast affairs and all of a sudden Kent felt like the Costa Brava. What was scorching then seems almost temperate now. Last week Cambridge sweated through the second hottest day ever at 38.1°C, just behind Faversham’s UK record of 38.5°C in August 2003.

Trade should stop bottling it on carbon emissions

Published: 28 June, 2019

Bottling and packaging play by far the largest role in the green house gas (GHG) emissions generated by the production and distribution of a wine, contributing 42% of the total carbon footprint, delivering a clear ‘innovation challenge’ for the trade if it is to fully join the march towards greater sustainability.

Fit for the future

Published: 26 June, 2019

Maison Martell has formed a dynamic partnership aimed at preparing its vineyards for climate breakdown, as Alison Reid, of ethical-hedonist.com, reports.

‘Temperature crisis’ could lead to a major re-shuffle of global wine production and demand

Published: 13 May, 2019

Vinegrowing and winemaking worldwide could look very different in the next 30 years, a climate change expert has announced, as the planet accelerates towards a temperature crisis fifty years earlier than expected.

Sustainability accreditation in the works for UK wine

Published: 26 April, 2019

A new sustainability and climate change mitigation scheme for the UK wine industry could be complete by the end of the year.

A brave new world disease resistant vines

Published: 24 April, 2019

As disease-resistant vine quality improves, Darren Smith assesses how environmental pressures may radically alter the viticultural landscape

Fladgate latest to announce back-to-back vintage declaration

Published: 23 April, 2019

Things are heating up in the Douro, with yet another port house following up 2016 with another vintage year.

Together we can change the world

Published: 17 April, 2019

The 2019 Climate Change Leadership Conference called for the wine industry to set a global example. Lisa Riley reports

Plumpton climate change research could help boost English vine productivity

Published: 05 April, 2019

Soon to be released research carried out in Sussex could help unlock the secret of yields – and discover why they fluctuate so wildly from year to year in the UK.

Climate change leaving Beaujolais in fear of being priced out of the market by cereal and milk

Published: 11 March, 2019

The temperature is rising in Beaujolais, leaving producers to worry their products will be edged out of consumers’ repertoires by rival crops.

Climate Change Leadership highlights action and importance of ‘sharing’

Published: 07 March, 2019

The 2019 Climate Change Leadership Conference - Solutions for the Wine Industry, kicked off yesterday with key industry figures and experts taking to the stage to highlight and share actions taken to mitigate global warming.

Familia Torres & Jackson Family wineries join together to fight climate change

Published: 01 March, 2019

Spain's Familia Torres and California's Jackson Family wineries have, for over a decade now been taking very large steps to change business approaches in order to combat Climate Change. While they've been working on these projects separately to date, yesterday in Barcelona, Miguel Torres Sr. and Katie Jackson jointly announced the creation of the organisation, "International Wineries for Climate Action".

Boom in Tassie vineyards as producers capitalise on cooler climate premium

Published: 18 February, 2019

Tasmania’s vineyard area has grown by 25% over the past two growing seasons, with plans for another 15% increase in the pipeline, as both local and mainland Australian producers invest in the island’s viticultural scene.

Scandinavian style: Climate change pushes wine to the fringes

Published: 30 January, 2019

For much of the winemaking world, it’s an inconvenient truth that climate change is changing how easily and successfully wine can be made.

Research unveils UK winemaking areas that could rival Champagne

Published: 09 November, 2018

New research has unveiled winemaking areas in the UK that could rival Champagne – and they’re not necessarily what you might expect.

Tim Atkin MW: It’s heating up in Burgundy

Published: 02 November, 2018

Another year, another sale in Burgundy. Twelve months ago, it was Clos de Tart, bought by François Pinault’s Artémis Group for €280 million; now it’s Domaine Henri Rebourseau, in which the billionaire Bouygues brothers, Martin and Olivier, have recently acquired a majority stake for an estimated €45m.