Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Yealands relaunches Hawke's Bay Crossroads with Enotria

Published: 16 February, 2015

Yealands Wine Group is moving is its Hawke's Bay Crossroads wines to Enotria from Mentzendorff to streamline UK distribution.

French wine exports to the UK fall 10% by value in 2014

Published: 13 February, 2015

France's wine exports to the UK have fallen 10% by value in 2014, although British consumers still take in 12.2% of their neighbour's wines, making it the second biggest export market for France.

Global sales of Rioja wine grow by 5m bottles in 2014

Published: 13 February, 2015

Global sales of Rioja wine grew by 5 million bottles in 2014, hitting a new record of 281 million litres of wine, driven by a thirst for barrel-aged Rioja wines and whites.

Armit Wines boosts Tuscan portfolio with Fattoria Le Pupille

Published: 13 February, 2015

Armit Wines, UK distributor for a host of Italy's icon wines, has added southern Tuscany's Fattoria Le Pupille to its portfolio.

Calling on wine and spirits producers around the world to back Drop the Duty campaign

Published: 13 February, 2015

Today Harpers is calling on wine and spirits producers around the world concerned about the high alcohol duty levels in the UK to get involved in the Drop the Duty campaign and have their voice heard by the Chancellor, George Osborne.

Pernod Ricard celebrates strong UK half-year performance

Published: 12 February, 2015

Pernod Ricard's UK chief says the market is now in "full recovery" as its brands, in particular those at the top end of the scale, outperform the market.

M&S signs deal to bottle New World wines at Kingsland

Published: 12 February, 2015

Marks & Spencer will use a UK firm for the first time for its New World bulk wine bottling, after striking a deal with Manchester's Kingsland.

London's premium on-trade wine market growing 18% per year

Published: 12 February, 2015

The market for top wines is growing at a rate of 18.4% by value in London restaurants, against a backdrop of declining wine sales in the on-trade overall, down 9.3% by value for the year to July 2014.

Cold weather fails to dampen eating out sales in January

Published: 12 February, 2015

Restaurants and managed pubs saw like-for-like sales grow 1.4% in January, despite the snow and cold weather.

Flint Wines takes on Tim Mondavi's Napa estate Continuum

Published: 11 February, 2015

Flint Wines has expanded its US wine selection by becoming the exclusive UK agent for Tim Mondavi's Napa estate, Continuum.

England and New Zealand's sparkling wines clash ahead of Cricket World Cup

Published: 11 February, 2015

The doyens of the English and New Zealand sparkling wine industry are ratcheting up the competition ahead of the Cricket World Cup with a blind taste off.

Senior industry figures toast positive reception from Treasury over proposed 2% duty cut

Published: 11 February, 2015

Senior representatives from the drinks industry met with Treasury officials yesterday to present evidence in support of the proposed 2% duty cut on alcohol, describing the discussions as "constructive".

California's 2014 grape crush shows 'healthy decline' but won't stop bulk prices sliding

Published: 11 February, 2015

California's grape crush for 2014 hit 3.91 million tonnes, showing a "healthy decline" of 340,000 tonnes on the previous year, however the "ample inventories" of 2012 and 2013 means finding buyers for wine will be a challenge.

Virgin Wines sees festive sales boost of £10m

Published: 10 February, 2015

Online wine retailer Virgin Wines saw like-for-like sales jump 20% over the festive period, accounting for an extra £10 million - driven by a stellar performance from fizz.

French bag-in-box only retailer BiBoViNo seeks UK franchisees

Published: 10 February, 2015

French bag-in-box only wine retailer BiBoViNo is actively seeking UK franchisees to expand its 10-strong estate internationally.

Q&A: BiBoViNo's Frantz Roesch on why BIB wine is going upmarket

Published: 10 February, 2015

Frantz Roesch, founder of French bag-in-box retail concept BiBoViNo, reveals his plans for UK expansion, high profile backers and why it will focus on old world wines only.

Red Squirrel Wines behind new trade initiative to promote Bulgarian wines

Published: 10 February, 2015

Independent wine merchant, Red Squirrel Wines, is behind a new initiative to put the spotlight on wines from Bulgaria with four days of events in March including a trade tasting at the Bulgarian Embassy on March 18.

WSTA meets Treasury to call for 2% alcohol duty cut

Published: 10 February, 2015

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association is today meeting with the Treasury to present its 2015 Budget submission calling for a 2% cut in wine and spirits duty.

Drinks producers and retailers 'get personal' for Valentine's Day

Published: 09 February, 2015

Wine and spirits retailers and producers are looking to cash in on love this Valentine's Day with a host of personalised and quirky products alongside the more straightforward deals.