Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Distell reverses course on premium division

Published: 31 March, 2020

South African drinks giant Distell has shuttered its premium wine division Libertas Vineyards and Estates after little more than a year.

France: Shaking up the south

Published: 31 March, 2020

Off-piste wines from southern climes are increasingly drawing the spotlight, as Jo Gilbert reports.

Wine Intelligence updates Global Report post-virus

Published: 30 March, 2020

Wine Intelligence has updated its Global Report post-coronavirus (Covid-19), first launched in January, to highlight both the short and long-term effects the pandemic is likely to have on wine consumption.

Central Coast with Alex Krause, Birichino

Published: 30 March, 2020

Birichino’s flight at the recent Wines of California tasting was a lesson in how to go against the grain, with a focus on native ferments and century-old dry-farmed plantings all made at its Santa Cruz winery.

Sparkling dominates online wine searches

Published: 30 March, 2020

Nearly half of all wine-related online searches in the UK are for sparkling wine, according to new research from Italian wine specialists Independent Wine.

 WSTA and CEEV call for regulatory alignment post-Brexit

Published: 27 March, 2020

Wine trade bodies, the WSTA and CEEV have jointly urged the British government to maintain regulatory alignment on wine post-Brexit.

Best booze flicks for lockdown weekend

Published: 27 March, 2020

One week into lockdown, and you’ve exhausted all of Netflix ‘recommended for you’ offerings and are missing the world of wine. So why not kill two birds with one stone and stream a film about booze?

New Zealand report: Blanc page

Published: 27 March, 2020

Enduringly popular and commanding a premium, NZ Sauvignon Blanc is nonetheless evolving with an eye on the future. Andrew Catchpole reports

Argentina report: The beauty of buying in bulk

Published: 26 March, 2020

Argentina is upping its game to become a major player in boutique bulk, as Chris Wilson reports.

WSTA launches weekly coronavirus webinar

Published: 25 March, 2020

The WSTA has announced it is launching a weekly webinar series on coronavirus (Covid-19) and the impact on the world of wines and spirits.

WSTA ‘assumes' duty payments due today (25 March)

Published: 25 March, 2020

The WSTA, which has relentlessly called on the Chancellor to suspend duty payments, last night said it assumed the payments would be due today (25 March) with no formal response from the Treasury to suggest otherwise.

Covid-19: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Published: 24 March, 2020

Writing an opinion piece about the Covid-19 pandemic and what it might mean for society, or the drinks trade specifically, is surely a fool’s errand. The information changes every few hours. It feels rather like trying to bottle goodwill, or as Adele so beautifully sang, setting fire to the rain.

The Wine Society temporarily closes

Published: 24 March, 2020

The Wine Society has taken the decision to stop taking new orders and also to stop making deliveries with immediate effect.

Bacardi launches $3m on-trade support initiative

Published: 24 March, 2020

Bacardi has pledged $3m to support bars and restaurants around the world debilitated by the coronavirus shutdown.

Drinks companies join forces to plea for duty suspension

Published: 23 March, 2020

An initial 32 drinks companies (all WSTA members) have joined forces to plea for a cash lifeline, calling collectively on the Chancellor to suspend duty.

Diageo GB funds drinks information line

Published: 22 March, 2020

Diageo has today launched an information phone line that will be available to support licensed business owners who want to access the commercial measures announced by the government.

Friday Read: UK wineries battle coronavirus crisis with British determination

Published: 20 March, 2020

Rapidly slowing exports, a pivoting to direct to consumer sales as on-trade sales stall and vineyards on lock down – such is the picture of the UK wine industry today as it grapples with the ongoing disruption from the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).