Australian wine legend, Doug Lehmann, dies a year after his father Peter

Doug Lehmann, one of the charismatic figures in the Australian wine trade, has died over the weekend aged 62.

British Airways pilot and flight attendant wife team to open Salut Wines in Manchester

A British Airways pilot and his first class flight attendant wife hope their new wine merchants, Salut Wine, which opens in Manchester in August,  will help keep their feet firmly on the floor with what they claim will have the largest Enomatic machine installation in the city. 

Major global speakers lined up for Wine Vision 2014

An international line up of major global wine players is being built up for the second Wine Vision event, being run in association with Harpers, in London between November 17 and 19.

Copestick Murray strengthens overall team as Rachel Archer moves to Off Piste Wines

Copestick Murray has announced a number of staff changes that sees it strengthen its national accounts, sales and marketing teams, but at the same time it has lost I Heart brand manager, Rachel Archer, who is taking up a new role at Off Piste Wines.

UK wine buyers more cautious to try new ideas than in Europe says Origin's Bernard Fontannaz

It is easier to convince retail buyers in Europe to take on new wine ideas and designs than it is in the UK, according to Bernard Fontannaz, founder of Origin Wines.

The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.

Alain Ducasse sommelier wins first Wines of Portugal Wine Quest competition

Dorian Guillon, assistant head sommelier at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, has won the inaugural Wines of Portugal Wine Quest 2014 competition set up to help spread the word about Portuguese wine amongst UK's leading sommeliers.

Britain continues to drink through the World Cup despite England's exit

England may have crashed out of the World Cup but the nation is continuing to drink through it, according to the latest figures released by the Wilson Drinks Report.

Fine wine investors looking to pawn collections, says high end dealer

A high end London pawnbroker says wealthy clients are increasingly looking to pawn their fine wine collections to access cash, and that for him, fine wine is the top-performing luxury asset.

Provence's Ventoux is 'about more than entry-level co-op table wines', says winemaker

Provence's Ventoux region has more to offer than entry-level co-operative grown table wines, and quality rivals its Côtes du Rhône neighbours, claims a winemaker from the region.

Chilean winemakers see overall production down 15-20%

Chilean winemakers are suffering losses of up to 15% on their red wine volumes caused by vine damage, coming after frost decimated white grapes by up to 55%. Mario Pablo Silva, managing director of Chile's Casa Silva winery, said the frost had two different impacts - decimating white grapes and damaging vines in longer term leading to lower volumes of red grapes. 

Penfolds to push back Bin, Icon and Luxury wines to one combined release in October

Sherry gains popularity in the US with younger drinkers

Treasury changes Penfolds release dates as it writes down AU$260m

Treasury Wine Estates says 2015 will be a "reset year" as it writes down AU$260 million for 2014 and prepares to consolidate Penfolds' release dates to October to better manage allocations.

Wine travel website Winerist gears up for rapid growth

Wine and food travel website Winerist is aiming to boost the number of experiences it offers from 600 to 5,000 within the next six months, according to the firm's co-founder.

Felix Solis claims it can be "category captain" for Spain for multiple retailers

Felix Solis is in the position to act as "category captain" for Spain for any of the major UK retailers, according to Félix Solís Ramos, the group's export and marketing manager. 

French winemakers worry .wine domain names will confuse consumers

Ex Codorníu boss Nick Mantella moves to United Wineries

Nick Mantella, former Codorníu boss, has taken a new role as business development director at United Wineries.

Australia must continue to push its premium wines, says Negociants

"There will always be cheap wine in the market - that shouldn't detract or deviate the Australian wine industry from its premium message", says Negociants managing director Simon Thorpe MW.

Isabelle Legeron MW publishes comprehensive guide to natural wine

Isabelle Legeron MW has produced a comprehensive guide to natural wine bringing together not only a detailed examination of what natural wine is, but a country by country, producer by producer guide to the wines and styles that newcomers and enthusiasts should be looking to drink.