Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Best of British: we celebrate Top Merchants around the country

Published: 10 March, 2015

In part two of our Best of British feature, Harpers takes a look at three more independent wine merchants to keep your eyes on.

ProWein Preview: The Brits are coming!

Published: 09 March, 2015

Downtown Düsseldorf will be the place to be this March as ProWein opens its doors to hordes of international buyers - with the Brits increasingly first in the queue. Here is what you can expect for arguably the largest drinks tradeshow in the world.

María José Sevilla, Wines from Spain, on what we can expect next in the UK

Published: 09 March, 2015

Consumer knowledge of Spanish wines has grown exponentially in the UK in recent years. María José Sevilla, director of Wines From Spain, talks to Harpers about what's next.

High dining in the "Walkie Talkie's" Sky Garden

Published: 06 March, 2015

Rhubarb, the south-west London-based caterer-turned-restaurateur has three venues atop the £200-million 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the "Walkie-Talkie" for its distinctive top-heavy shape. Together, the Sky Pod Bar, Darwin Brasserie and Fenchurch Seafood Bar & Grill are intended to form a "gourmet, garden oasis". And so they do, writes Douglas Blyde.

Mark Holdsworth, Half Hitch Gin, on breathing new life in to London gin

Published: 06 March, 2015

Camden Lock in north London was once the centre of the capital's gin production. Fifty years after the last distiller moved out, Mark Holdsworth is breathing new life into the area. He talks about craft gin and his plans for Half Hitch with Helen Arnold.

Guy Woodward: why Robert Parker's legacy will be increase in power of peer reviews

Published: 06 March, 2015

How do you choose a hotel? Or a film for the flight? A book for the pool? If you're anything like my wife, you check the user ratings on TripAdvisor, Rotten Tomatoes or Amazon, where peer-to-peer reviews carry far more weight than those of any critic. And what weight.

Last chance for the Bordelais to get it right with 'out of touch' en primeur

Published: 06 March, 2015

There's a scene in This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner's 1984 spoof rockumentary about English heavy metal band Spinal Tap, that features a live performance of a song called "Stonehenge".

Tim Atkin MW: Last chance for Bordeaux to get it right with 'out of touch' en primeur

Published: 06 March, 2015

There's a scene in This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner's 1984 spoof rockumentary about English heavy metal band Spinal Tap, that features a live performance of a song called "Stonehenge". Keen to add some extra theatre to the gig, the band commission a model of the prehistoic English monument, which descends from above as they play on stage. There's only one problem: the dimensions are all wrong. Instead of 18-foot replica stones, the band orders 18-inch ones by mistake.

Martin Williams: Ex-Gaucho boss on theatre of dining at his new 'M Restaurants'

Published: 06 March, 2015

Martin Williams caused a stir in the restaurant world when he announced he was leaving his top job at Gaucho Grill to go it alone in a 300-seat destination dining venue in central London. But he could not be happier following the opening of his new venture "M".

UK vs France: the differences in marketing regulation of alcoholic drinks

Published: 06 March, 2015

If we think drinks legislation is inhibitive in the UK we only need look across the Channel to cheer ourselves. We asked Dr Tom Farrell and Dr Beno&icirct Lecat which system is more fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Mitchells & Butlers: what on-trade buyers are looking for from their suppliers

Published: 06 March, 2015

Former Somerfield wine buyer and restaurant consultant Angela Mount asks Henry Boyes, wine procurement manager for Mitchells & Butlers, what suppliers need to do to satisfy the largest on-trade group in the UK.

Guy Woodward: Robert Parker's ultimate legacy - increased power of peer reviews

Published: 06 March, 2015

Denis O'Flynn, Pernod Ricard UK, why we need to get behind the WSTA

Published: 06 March, 2015

Denis O'Flynn, managing director of Pernod Ricard UK, talks about his plans as the new chairman of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association.

Q&A: Agustin Trapero, sommelier, Almeida

Published: 09 February, 2015

Fiona Griffiths talks to Agustin Trapero, sommelier at Almeida in Islington, about swapping the restaurant's printed wine list for a 'wine wall' and tasting table

Q&A: Andy and Claire Kitching, Friends of Ham

Published: 06 February, 2015

How do a construction manager and a City headhunter end up running a bar that has been voted the best place to drink in Britain? Nigel Huddleston meets Andy Kitching, half of the team behind Leeds' award-winning Friends of Ham

Profile: Frescobaldi - stepping into the unknown

Published: 06 February, 2015

Italy's Frescobaldi family may be world famous for its wines, but can it succeed in the highly competitive restaurant world? Douglas Blyde goes behind the scenes at its first standalone restaurant off London's Regent Street

Profile: Bottle Apostle

Published: 06 February, 2015

Bottle Apostle is one of the new breed of independent wine merchants hitting well-heeled high streets across the country. Both cool and quirky, it has its sights set on young and affluent customers, as Helen Arnold discovers

Supermarkets special report: Why less is more

Published: 06 February, 2015

As the UK's major multiples look to pare back their wine and spirit ranges in order to boost performance and compete with discounters, Gemma McKenna asks what this new direction will mean for the rest of the trade

Independent merchants: the ones to watch

Published: 06 February, 2015

As part of our March for the Independents campaign, here we highlight some of the independent merchants across the country worth keeping an eye on. Gemma McKenna reports

Guy Woodward: Why the UK trade needs to turn its back on overpriced Bordeaux

Published: 06 February, 2015

I saw a headline the other day that grabbed my attention. "Hopes rise for Bordeaux prices in 2015". Ah, I thought, that's good - they're coming down at last.