New Zealand's 2013 vintage is 'one to remember'

Brancott Estate debuts 'next big thing' Sauvignon Gris in UK

Sales of European and fine wine set to grow in US

The US wine industry is facing challenges as it hits "transition point" with younger consumers moving into the market, but sales of European and fine wine are set to grow, says Silicon Valley Bank.

Sam Neill's Two Paddocks acquires fourth Central Otago vineyard

Actor- turned- winemaker, Sam Neill, has acquired a fourth vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand, adding six additional hectares of Pinot Noir to his vineyard portfolio with the purchase of a Bannockburn estate called Desert Heart.

NZ annual London tasting focuses on sustainability and new styles of wine

New Zealand Winegrowers will be hosting their annual London trade tasting at Lindley Hall at the Royal Horticultural Halls, a new venue for the tasting, on Tuesday, January 21, with a focus on sustainability and new styles of wines.

Should there be a Bordeaux 2013 en primeur campaign? Have your say...

Both critics and producers took to Twitter and social media yesterday to defend their stance of whether or not the Bordeaux 2013 en premieur campaign should in fact be held this year and if it was would they attend. Here we look at industry opinion and give you the chance to have your say in our Harpers.co.uk poll. 

Sonoma County to be first completely sustainable US wine region

The Sonoma County Winegrowers announced yesterday a three phased plan that will make Sonoma County the first 100% sustainable wine region in the US.

Younger consumers key to exploring French wines' diversity

Younger consumers are vital to drive sales of lesser-known French wines, said experts at the French Wine Discovery Tasting.

Exploration among younger generations is key to showing French Wines diversity

The 12th annual French Wine Discovery Tasting, which showcased over 120 exhibitors, was held at the Tobacco Dock yesterday on January 14th, 2014.

Wine's winners and losers in 2013 and prospects for 2014

The wine regions of the world closed out 2013 with some clear winners like South Africa, which reported record exports, and New Zealand, which just entered into a new trade agreement with Taiwan. But countries including Argentina and Australia faced big challenges. We take a look at how the world's major wine regions fared in 2013 and look at their prospects for 2014.

Wine's winners and losers in 2013 and predictions for 2014

HMRC launches official protection scheme for Spirits in the UK

In order to better protect Spirits in the European Union, the Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme has been launched beginning with Scotch Whisky on January 10, 2014, in order to protect different Spirits from fraudulent and sub-standard products that are made in the UK.

Windsor 2014 event to launch with average wine buyer budget of £2.2 million

A growing number of prominent wine buyers and producers are set to participate in The Wine Buyers' Forum, Windsor 2014, the first of a new kind of event, organised by the publishers of Harpers.

Review: Beard to Tail, Shoreditch, London

The Beard to Tail in Shoreditch is a new favourite, as a lover of all things grilled and whisky. The restaurant, which opened in late 2012, boasts a great selection of grilled meats, including some of the best ribs around, and an impressive list of rare whiskies and ryes.

How to start a fine-wine Cult

Old-school City high-rollers may never have imagined a time when fine-wine investments would become a common investment vehicle and wines would be traded in the same fashion as high-yield stocks and bonds. But today, investment houses like Cult Wines, run by father-and-son team Philip and Tom Gearing, are making fine-wine investments more accessible to all types of investors as another way to simply round out a financially sound portfolio of assets and investments, with the opportunity to celebrate profits by drinking the very commodity traded - fine wine.

?Glenmorangie releases Companta Private Edition Whisky

Glenmorangie has released its fifth annual private edition label called Companta, which has been aged in Grand Cru and Côtes du Rhône casks.

Enotria to add Australian Burch Family Wines to portfolio

Burch Family Wines, which has a winery in Margaret River in South West Australia, and a winery in Denmark, in the Great Southern region, is the newest addition to the Enotria wine portfolio.

California's lack of rainfall is major threat to winemakers in 2014

2013 marked one of the driest year's on record in California, with cities like San Francisco reporting the driest year since 1849, when annual rainfall totals first started being recorded.  Los Angeles similarly, reported only receiving 3.6 inches of rain in total for 2013, well below the average of 14 inches. This could be catastrophic for agriculture and wine producers should conditions not change in the near future.

Over 77,000 fake Smirnoff Vodka bottles to be destroyed

Singapore Customs has handed over 77,850 counterfeit Smirnoff vodka bottles to brand owner, Diageo. The authorities first discovered the shipment in June 2013 and have only now released them to be destroyed. 

Absolut Vodka releases friend finding app

Tired of losing your friends at the bar?  There is an app for that. Absolut, the iconic Pernod Ricard vodka brand, released the Buddy Check app in November on iTunes and will be releasing an Android application on Google Play in early 2014.