Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

The pros and cons of importing direct

Published: 29 November, 2017

Bypassing the traditional middleman can be tempting for indie merchants says Chris Wilson, who looks at the highs and lows of importing direct.

The creation of Priorat Singulars

Published: 29 November, 2017

A new association of producers from Catalonia’s DOQ Priorat officially presented their new Priorat Singulars group in Barcelona on 27 November, representing a new initiative to raise the profile of the region's very top wines.

New reference point for English wine with first EU cross-border appellation approval

Published: 28 November, 2017

Wines of England may be known for their sparkling production, but their still wines now have a new cool climate reference point to compare with.

The Pack Outsider

Published: 27 November, 2017

Wine is thinking inside the box again when it comes to new formats, recognising that consumers want both smaller and more sharing possibilities. By Lisa Riley

Dragon backs new sugar-free wine range

Published: 27 November, 2017

Investors have backed the healthy drinking trend by ploughing funds into a range of new Italian wines which are tipped to be completely sugar and carb free.

Five sommeliers from across the UK and Ireland recipients of NZW scholarship

Published: 27 November, 2017

New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) today announced that five out of its eight European recipients of its 2018 International Sommelier Scholarship are from the UK and Ireland.

Meet the buyers: James Hocking, The Vineyard Cellars

Published: 27 November, 2017

Harpers gets the lowdown from specialist retailer buyer James Hocking, wine director at The Vineyard Cellars

Three Choirs launches ‘first release’ still white for the first time in six years

Published: 27 November, 2017

Three Choirs Vineyards has launched a ‘first release’ still white wine for the first time in six years.

Connecting with Generation Z

Published: 24 November, 2017

A new generation coming up behind the Millennials is presenting new challenges to the drinks trade. Andrew Catchpole reports from the Global Drinks Forum in Berlin

Team Tesco talks shop

Published: 20 November, 2017

After two years of regrouping and a recent restructure, Tesco gives Angela Mount a taste of what’s to come

Spanish give English Albariño wine the thumbs up

Published: 20 November, 2017

Chapel Down Winery in Kent is the only UK vineyard to make a wine from 100% Albariño – a grape associated with Galicia in northwest Spain.

Prosecco DOC gears up for approval of new ‘Brutnature’ description

Published: 17 November, 2017

The Prosecco DOC Consortium has revealed it is hoping to get approval for the use of a new Prosecco description - Brutnature, on labels in 2018.

Xavier Rousset gets personal with new members club

Published: 17 November, 2017

London restaurateur and sommelier extraordinaire Xavier Rousset is branching out with his first wine club.

Savage Vines expands subscription service with new duo format

Published: 17 November, 2017

Savage Vines has added a duo pack to its online wine subscription service to keep the sales momentum of its exclusively sourced wines going.

The vintage before the storm: Rhône 2016 primeur tasting

Published: 16 November, 2017

Yesterday’s Thorman Hunt & Co Ltd Rhône 2016 en primeur vintage tasting made overtures of incomparable quality, promising the likes of which tasters have not seen before.

Vindependents sets date for spirits launch

Published: 16 November, 2017

Vindependents has confirmed it will start importing spirits to the UK for the first time from January 2018.

Wine companies join forces to call for wine duty freeze

Published: 15 November, 2017

UK wine businesses have joined forces to call for a freeze to wine duty at the Budget next week.  

Uruguay’s winemakers target UK 'global shop window'

Published: 14 November, 2017

As an Atlantic-cooled nation of just 3.4 million people, Uruguay and its winemakers are keenly aware of the need to differentiate its wine offer from that of the country's major South American rivals, viewing the UK as an unrivalled platform to achieve that aim.

Global Drinks Forum: a taste of future on-trade trends

Published: 13 November, 2017

Immersive experiences, category blur and premium drinks were hot topics at the recent Global Drinks Forum in Berlin, where the trends shaping the on-trade were put under the spotlight.

Ridgeview heralds non-vintage move as it appoints youngest winemaker

Published: 11 November, 2017

Ridgeview Wine Estate has appointed its youngest winemaker to date, Rory Loftus aged 23, as assistant head winemaker amid a key transitional change of its vintage wines to non-vintage.