Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Liberty strengthens southern Italian offer

Published: 05 October, 2026

Liberty Wines has boosted its southern Italian portfolio with the addition of Quintodecimo and Bella-Colonna estates.

Italy report: Sicily, from Etna to oenotourism

Published: 22 June, 2026

In the same week that Italy’s parliament signed off on funding for the notorious Strait of Messina bridge to connect Sicily to the mainland, the island played host to the 22nd edition of Sicilia En Primeur, connecting the world with Sicily’s contemporary wine scene in a different way. Over 1,000 wines from 56 wineries were present for the event, held in Palermo in May with the headline Taste the Island, Live the Story.

Headline Heroes: Revival of the fittest

Published: 18 September, 2023

James Lawrence looks at how Sicily’s winemaking scene is thriving and organic certification is on the increase.

New limits on Etna to control invasive investment

Published: 02 December, 2022

New moves to limit Etna DOC (PDO) wine production volumes have been designed to maintain and control average grape prices, as a way of preserving the Sicilian mountain’s wine economy, its environment and viticultural heritage, the Etna DOC wine board has said.

Nero d’Avola: An ancient grape for a modern era

Published: 26 September, 2022

Jo Gilbert travels to the home of Nero d’Avola in south eastern Sicily to chart the course of a success story.

Q&A: Patricia Tóth, winemaker, Planeta

Published: 27 July, 2021

Presiding over winemaking at the innovative and cosmopolitan Sicilian trailblazer Planeta, Patricia Tóth is one of the island’s biggest champions. Andrew Catchpole asks her about Sicily’s appeal

Italy’s big hitters up their game

Published: 21 April, 2021

David Kermode charts the rise of Italy’s collectable high end, as investment eclipses its Burgundy and Bordeaux cousins.

Panel discussion: Taste the Trends

Published: 19 February, 2020

Assembling a fantastic panel to peer through the prism of wine to explore upcoming trends promised to be a novel adventure. Especially in front of a knowledge-thirsty, wine-savvy audience. And so it proved when Harpers partnered with Berkmann Wine Cellars at its lively annual London tasting to lead a Taste the Trends seminar, which threw the spotlight on some of the most meaningful and sustainable developments in the wine world today.

Artisanal Oz and Georgia among diverse new agencies for Berkmann

Published: 03 January, 2020

Berkmann Wine Cellars has ushered in the new year with the addition of five new agencies to its portfolio.

Selling Italy in the off-trade

Published: 09 December, 2019

Justin Keay digs deep into Italy in the off-trade, taking his microscope to the supermarkets’ Italian ranges and discovering what indie customers are demanding from their local merchants.

Palmento Costanzo releases 2016 Prefillossera

Published: 05 December, 2019

Etna producer Palmento Costanzo has released a limited production wine made from a small parcel of pre-phylloxera vines.

Premium agenda at Sicilia en Primeur as bottled exports hit new high

Published: 08 May, 2018

Bottlings of Sicilian wine rose 123% in the first quarter of 2018 (vs Q1 2017), reflected in both an ongoing trend to more premium exports and a reduction in bulk sales following the short 2017 harvest.