Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Conviviality sales soar 137% for the year

Published: 20 May, 2016

Following the acquisition of Matthew Clark on 7 October 2015, Convivialty saw sales soar 137% to approximately £864 million for the 53 weeks ending on 1 May 2016.

The Week That Was: Top news, Q&As and analysis on Harpers.co.uk

Published: 20 May, 2016

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

Kingscote taking a leaf out of Champagne's book for first fizz

Published: 20 May, 2016

A Sussex winery is gearing up to launch its first sparkling wine - drawing heavily from France's most famous sparkling wine region.

LWF: Visitors numbers fall by 2%

Published: 19 May, 2016

The organisers of the London Wine Fair have reported a decrease in visitor numbers for this year's show.

Alliance pushes the Prosecco ceiling with DOCG addition

Published: 19 May, 2016

Alliance Wine is expanding its Prosecco offering by adding Giavi Prosecco Superiore DOCG to its range.

Sainsbury's to simplify pricing as it prepares to axe multibuy deals

Published: 19 May, 2016

Sainsbury's are dropping multibuys from their in store promotions and rounding up 99p price points in a bid to encourage customers to trade-up.

Pub sales weaken growth in casual dining

Published: 19 May, 2016

According to Coffer Peach Business Tracker, part of CGA Peach, like-for-like sales across managed pub and restaurant groups were down 0.8% for April compared to the same time last year.

Insights: Logistics is a critical piece of the succes of online wine sales

Published: 19 May, 2016

With web-based sales of wines, spirits and beers growing fast, the delivery following that 'click' is all important.

Analysis: How premium casual dining outlets can get the most out of their wine offer

Published: 19 May, 2016

The growth in premium casual dining means that less is often more when it comes to wine.

Crush Wines invests in Portugal's resurgence

Published: 18 May, 2016

Crush Wines is vouching for the growing reputation of Portuguese wines as no longer just "after dinner digestifs" by adding a producer to its portfolio.

Data is driving Co-op wine range changes to help continue growth

Published: 18 May, 2016

The Co-operative is gaining ground in an ultra-competitive channel and at yesterday's summer tasting which previewed several of the new wines being introduced to the retailer's range, the science behind the changes seems to be paying off.

London sommelier wins Moët UK Sommelier Of The Year 2016

Published: 18 May, 2016

Terry Kandylis from London's 67 Pall Mall has been awarded the 2016 Moët UK Sommelier of the Year title.

Britain overtaken in fine wine at auction by China and the US

Published: 18 May, 2016

Britain has been overtaken by China and the United States, as some of the top countries for buying and investing in fine wines at auction.

No UK range is complete without New Zealand, says Buckingham Schenk

Published: 17 May, 2016

Buckingham Schenk is expanding its international portfolio by adding two New Zealand producers to its repertoire.

WSET launches redesigned Level 1 Award in Spirits

Published: 17 May, 2016

As part of a major shake-up of its courses, which includes the separation of wine from spirits in its advanced qualification, the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has unveiled a redesigned Level 1 (L1) Award in Spirits.

Healthy Drink Alliance: If we don't self regulate, the government will

Published: 17 May, 2016

The Healthy Drinking Alliance in this month's edition of Harpers is pushing to help raise awareness about the importance of self-regulation as an industry and believes we need to be doing more to prevent government mandates from coming into effect in the future.

Moët & Chandon launches "pink partner" to its Blanc Ice Impérial NV

Published: 17 May, 2016

Moët & Chandon is launching its Moët Ice Impérial Rosé NV, believed to be the first ever Rosé Champagne to be served over ice.

Spike in gin and rosé sales at Waitrose as bbq season kicks off

Published: 16 May, 2016

A surprisingly warm early start to May was reflected in an increase in sales of gin (up 15%) and rosé wine (up 39 per cent) at Waitrose.

Majestic Wine rolls out several news wines ahead of summer

Published: 16 May, 2016

Following the tremendous success of Majestic's first own label Definition range, with sales hitting over £5 million in less than a year on the shelf, the wine buying team is adding a number of new wines to their expanding portfolio ahead of summer.

Concha y Toro launches tool to support growing wine c-sector

Published: 16 May, 2016

Concha y Toro UK, one of the UK's leading wine suppliers, has announced the launch of a free app to help convenience retailers to maximise wine sales.