Kofi Annan to address Spanish wine conference

One for sloe berry addicts

In time for the dusky autumnal weather and winter woollies is Demijohn Sloe Sherry (50cl rrp £21.60).

Chivas goes Christian Lacroix

There are only 3,000 bottles of the limited-edition haute couture styled Chivas 18 Year Old (rrp £399) ? one edition that is guaranteed to stand out on anyone's shelf or drinks list.

New look for Cuvée Pierre Frapin

The new packaging for the ultra-premium Cuvée Pierre Frapin 1888 features stylish detail.

New look for Cuvée Pierre Frapin

The new packaging for the ultra-premium Cuvée Pierre Frapin 1888 features stylish detail.

Wine with a quick response

One of the first wines in the UK that precedes the rush to include a quick response code on the label is the Vinultra Insight Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (Laithwaites Wine, rrp £11.99).

Baron de Ley-El Coto invests €5m in new white varieties

Spanish wine group Baron de Ley-El Coto has bought Carbonera-Bergasa's 500-hectare estate in Rioja and plans to invest €5m in developing new white varieties approved by regional authorities three years ago.

Noval goes minimal for Xmas

Keeping it minimal and aimed at younger drinkers to the port category is Noval Black from Quinta do Noval (rrp £14.99).

Campo Viejo ramping up tapas campaign

Spanish wine brand Campo Viejo is ramping up its Viva el vino tapas campaign in the on-trade after the success of last year's marketing push.

Pernod Ricard sells New Zealand Wine brands

Pernod Ricard Group has sold some of its New Zealand Wine brands, including Lindauer, to a consortium of buyers from Lion Nathan and Indevin, for NZ $88 million (circa £42 million).

Pernod Ricard sells New Zealand Wine brands

Pernod Ricard Group has sold some of its New Zealand Wine brands, including Lindauer, to a consortium of buyers from Lion Nathan and Indevin, for NZ $88 million (circa £42 million).

Roberson Wine & Orbiel & Frères

Fed up with the lack of wine available in the UK at a low enough price for Roberson Wine to retail it sub-£6 and wholesale at around £4, senior buyer Mark Andrew embarked on a hunt for a range of great, superb-value wines.

Bowmore's launches limited-edition expressions

One for the whisky collector.

Carol Emmas reviews Roux at Parliament Square

It was a sad day for me when the peace protesters were removed from Parliament Square - where some had camped for almost a decade.

González Byass celebrates 175th anniversary with London tasting

González Byass is presenting its entire range of wines, sherries and brandies to celebrate the 175th anniversary since the Spanish wine company's establishment.

New Taste - a vodka, a rum and a Rioja

What happens when vodka companies run out of ideas for flavours - will they jump on the bandwagon like crisps and start producing the likes of fish and chip or hoisin duck flavours? We'll have to wait and see if that quirky initiative ever sees the light of day. In the meantime, Diageo GB is rolling out a new variant for its popular flavoured vodka range - Smirnoff Blueberry (rrp £14.79) in a bid to fuel further growth of the category. So far, so good - according to Diageo its Bristol trial saw "outstanding" results. Smirnoff Blueberry is promoted to be served with lemonade, making it easy for consumers to create a long, mixed spirit drink at home.

Richard Siddle, blog: Viva Espana

It must be pretty special to be in any way Spanish this week. You only had to see the television coverage or pictures from the amazing homecoming the Spanish football team received from the hundreds of thousands of people in Madrid to see what their World Cup victory means to the people of Spain.

Take three new products

It must have been a sad, sad day for Royal Navy sailors when the last rum ration was issued to them on July 31, 1970.

Carol Emmas reviews Laithwaites

At WineFuture in Rioja in 2009, when Justin Howard-Sneyd was buying manager at Waitrose, he said there were two ways ahead for UK supermarket wine divisions upmarket or down.

Sommelier Diary - Christopher Delalonde