Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

My mind is made up, please don't confuse me with the facts

Published: 25 November, 2016

September 11th 2001. Anyone out of childhood can remember what they were doing the day the Twin Towers were felled

Jerry Lockspeiser: My mind is made up, please don't confuse me with the facts

Published: 25 November, 2016

September 11th 2001. Anyone out of childhood can remember what they were doing the day the Twin Towers were felled.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Does wine need its Uber?

Published: 24 October, 2016

The wine trade is not renowned for disruptive business models. We haven't yet had our Uber, Airbnb or iTunes. Nor do we have much of a history of radical innovation.

Jerry Lockspeiser: What do wine drinkers really want to know?

Published: 26 September, 2016

Our regular columist Jerry Lockspeiser has published "YOUR WINE QUESTIONS ANSWERED: The 25 things wine drinkers most want to know", with 100% of the revenue recieved donated to the Millione Foundation, which he started with Mike Paul and Cliff Roberson to fund primary schools in Sierra Leone.

Jerry Lockspeiser: The Export Manager's Tale

Published: 24 August, 2016

People working in the wine business arrive by different routes. Jerry Lockspeiser tells the tale of Jan Kaspar and how he came into the wine trade.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Lessons learnt from Brexit

Published: 19 July, 2016

Many of us in the wine trade rue the Brexit result. Some, including Tim Atkin in his recent Harpers piece, hope that it won't be implemented. I campaigned to Remain, twice writing in Harpers in support, the second time urging readers to join in before it was too late. Alas, now it is. The people have spoken

Jerry Lockspeiser: Act now before it's too late

Published: 17 June, 2016

It was a glorious event. The Stade de France a sea of Polish and German colour- red and white scarves held aloft by their thousands, black and white shirts everywhere you looked. Crazy hats, painted faces, couples framed by a huge heart kissing on the giant screen.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is wine quality the key to sales?

Published: 26 May, 2016

While everyone in the wine business agrees that product quality is important, how we define 'quailty' may vary. So how do we persuade a buyer to give us a listing?

Jerry Lockspeiser: Running Business

Published: 28 April, 2016

Jerry Lockspeiser has learned a lot of lessons through his training for marathons that are also applicable to running a successful business.

Jerry Lockspieser: Are you an Inner or an Outer?

Published: 22 March, 2016

Are you an "inner" or an "outer"? This is not a question about bicycle tyres but the increasingly vexed matter of where you stand on Britain's membership of the European Union.

It's the person, stupid

Published: 25 February, 2016

It's about time we considered the customer and put their preferences first, rather than treating them as an inconvenient obstacle to a perfect wine and food pairing

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is it time for the wine trade to face up to the health risks of drinking?

Published: 19 January, 2016

Jerry Lockspeiser weighs in on the new Chief Medical Officer guidelines of alcohol consumption and argues as a trade we have an 'obligation to pay attention'. Are we skeptical because we simply don't want to believe the argument is valid?

Jerry Lockspeiser: How to make money in wine? Start a crusade

Published: 04 December, 2015

Jerry Lockspeiser on why mission-driven businesses are appealing to consumers

Book Review: Money, Taste and Wine: It's Complicated! by Mike Veseth

Published: 08 October, 2015

Mike Veseth appears to be on a mission. Money, Taste and Wine: It's Complicated! follows his Wine Wars and Extreme Wine (reviewed here in May 2014) in discussing aspects of the wine world in a language ordinary mortals can understand.

Jerry Lockspeiser: The question every wine veteran gets asked- what is the BEST wine?

Published: 18 September, 2015

It happened again last week. I was on a flight from Mallorca to London City airport. It was one of those small planes with just two seats either side of the gangway. She was in an aisle seat and I was bolted in next to the window. I was trapped and I wanted to lie.

Jerry Lockspeiser encourages us all to break free and rebel when it comes to wine

Published: 27 July, 2015

You know that feeling. For years you have been doing something that seems slightly illicit, almost shameful, then out of the blue someone knowledgeable tells you it's OK. You don't have to hide it any more. And you discover you are not alone. Lots of other people are doing it too. In fact it might even be a good thing!

Jerry Lockspeiser: Brewing up a storm

Published: 16 June, 2015

Companies with lots of shareholders shouldn't have annual general meetings like this. Really. It's dangerous stuff. It might change the way we think about doing business completely and forever. And we don't want that. Or do we?