Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Discovering the wonders of Lebanon: Looking to the future

Published: 13 December, 2013

Wine critic Natasha Hughes assesses the merits of Lebanese wine and looks at the potential opportunities it has in the UK market

UK wine and spirits industry hopes Christmas will make up for a hard 2013

Published: 13 December, 2013

The UK wine and spirit industry has had a tough 2013 with sales down in both the on and off-trades, according to the latest market report from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

?Discovering the wonders of Lebanon

Published: 13 December, 2013

Wine has been made in Lebanon for thousands of years, but for many it remains a great unknown. Richard Siddle, Natasha Hughes and Michael Karam draw back the veil on its glories

?Q&A with Denis O'Flynn, UK managing director Pernod Ricard

Published: 12 December, 2013

As the trade braces itself for the most important time of the year, Helen Arnold looks back on 2013 with one of the biggest names in the industry

Over 100 producers head to French wine event

Published: 12 December, 2013

The 12th annual French Wine Discoveries Tasting will be held on Tuesday January 14, 2014 at Tobacco Dock near Tower Hill.

French Independent Winegrowers fair comes to London

Published: 12 December, 2013

The French Independent Winegrowers fair will be returning to the Royal Horticultural Halls in London for a fifth year on February 6^th, 2014.

?WSTA to get consumers behind its 'Be Fair George' campaign

Published: 12 December, 2013

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association is to next week launch a high level national media and consumer campaign to persuade the government to scrap the final year of the duty escalator on wines and spirits in the next Budget.

Third bi-annual Sparkling wine symposium wraps up

Published: 11 December, 2013

The third bi-annual International Sparkling Wine Symposium (ISWS), which was held last week on December 3^rd and 4^th, had 150 attendees from 15 different countries at the Denbies Wine Estates in Surrey.

UK on-trade: ?Italy, Spain and Chile surge ahead

Published: 11 December, 2013

Which wine countries are leading the way in the UK on-trade? This year sees a bit of a flight to value with Spain, Italy, and Chile being the biggest winners, according to the latest research from Wine Business Solutions as part of its UK On Premise report for 2013.

Scotch Whisky Association sets up £500,000 to help alcohol-related harm

Published: 10 December, 2013

The Scotch Whisky Association has launched a £500,000 action fund to tackle alcohol-related harm.

Alcohol consumption in Scotland falls by nearly 10%

Published: 10 December, 2013

Alcohol consumption in Scotland has fallen by 8% since 2009 with 18 to 24 year-olds young people increasingly looking to drink less, according to a new report.

Accolade Wines takes on John Ratcliffe as its new chief executive

Published: 10 December, 2013

Accolade Wines has appointed former Seagrams and Oddbins chief, John Ratcliffe, as its new chief executive.

Global bulk wine prices for December released by Murphy Wine Company

Published: 10 December, 2013

Here is your one stop guide to the latest global bulk wine prices produced by bulk wine broker, Murphy Wine Company.

Wine Vision chairman, Paul Henry, gives his personal view of global wine challenges

Published: 10 December, 2013

I like words, but I think that numbers do a better job at setting and managing expectation. So when an event entitled, 'Wine Vision', appears, and there is an opportunity to be involved, I guess you have to think pretty carefully about the risk and reward quotient - clearly, at some point, there should be a requirement to be 'visionary'.

Croatian wines start to make serious inroads in to the UK

Published: 09 December, 2013

High-end and with bags of niche appeal, Croatia is turning heads among sommeliers and independents. Andrew Catchpole reports on the opportunities for Croatian wine in the UK.

Jonathan Simms to be brand ambassador for Pernod Ricard UK Champagnes

Published: 09 December, 2013

Pernod Ricard UK has appointed Jonathan Simms as its new ambassador for its Champagnes brands.

The Symingtons purchase highly coveted Quinta da Sarbordela

Published: 09 December, 2013

Symington Family Estates has bought the much coveted 30 hectare Quinta da Sabordela vineyard in the Douro valley which will now be incorporated in to the neighbouring Quinta do

Casa Silva becomes the the eighth winner of the Chilean Winery of the Year

Published: 09 December, 2013

Chilean wine producer, Casa Silva, is the eighth winner of the annual Winery of the Year competition held by the Association of Chilean Wine and Wines of Chile.

Cambridge Wine Merchants named as Sud de France Retailer of the Year

Published: 09 December, 2013

Cambridge Wine Merchants has been named the Sud de France Retailer of the Year in a competition run by the region's generic body, in association with Harpers.

Wine Vision Day 3: Our round up the main social media activity around the event

Published: 06 December, 2013

Such was the social media activity around last month's Wine Vision global conference held in London it was trending on Twitter by day three of the event. Here is our round up of the main social media activity taking place during the final day of talks, debates and panel sessions.