Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Walker & Wodehouse plays up to royal connections for Queen's 90th birthday celebration

Published: 09 June, 2016

Walker & Wodehouse is teaming up with Primrose Bakery to throw a street party to mark the Queen's 90th.

Southern Comfort sale averts disaster as Brown-Forman's sales drop 2%

Published: 09 June, 2016

The sale of Southern Comfort and Tuaca has bolstered a 2% drop in net sales for Jack Daniels owner Brown-Forman.

Tesco tipped to announce sale of Giraffe and Turkish retail arm

Published: 09 June, 2016

Tesco is expected to offload Giraffe and the Turkish arm of its operations in a move to concentrate on its core grocery business.

Halo effect in gin creating thirst for premium tonic

Published: 09 June, 2016

Premium brand 1724 Tonic Water has found a new UK distributor as it aims to gain ground in the growing premium tonic market.

M?ori wine: Indigenous culture conquering the world with non-indigenous grapes

Published: 08 June, 2016

The world's first M?ori-owned wine company has its sights set on breaking into the UK market with a 500-year plan to promote its wines and preserve the land.

Nicolas Feuillatte launches contemporary communication strategy

Published: 08 June, 2016

A major marketing shake up was unveiled at Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte's 40^th anniversary bash in Paris on 7 June

Gains in Malbec lost due to Argentine El Niño

Published: 08 June, 2016

An Uco Valley winery is picking up the pieces of some of the worst weather in decades as sales of its "trendy" malbec plummet.

Profitability of lower-priced wines increasing stateside

Published: 08 June, 2016

Profits are up in the US even though volume is down as consumers trade up at the lower end of the market.

Glenmorangie launches Old Fashioned Week

Published: 07 June, 2016

Glenmorangie is launching a new initiative called Old Fashioned Week to promote its Extra Matured Range ahead of this year's British Open Golf Championship.

Majestic launches in-store promotion with Chandon and Formula 1

Published: 07 June, 2016

Majestic Wine is jumping behind the global partnership between Chandon sparkling Argentinian wine and the McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team with a month-long promotion to promote wine and British racing in-store.

Australia's Mediterranean varieties driving next cycle of interest in UK

Published: 07 June, 2016

Australia's future popularity in the UK may well ride on the growing number of Mediterranean varieties emerging from the country, delivering a more niche and premium proposition than the established reliance on volume sales.

New Zealand Winegrowers extends Sommelier Scholarship to the UK and Ireland

Published: 07 June, 2016

New Zealand Winegrowers is offering three sommeliers from the UK and Ireland the chance to take part in an invite-only sommelier scholarship event in New Zealand.

Major work to be done in Diageo's emerging markets

Published: 06 June, 2016

Leading drinks producer Diageo has dropped its previous objective of obtaining 50% of its revenues from emerging markets by 2015 due to flagging growth in key emerging markets.

Rioja a double-edged sword for premium brands

Published: 06 June, 2016

As one of the primary regions in the world's third largest wine producing country, the Rioja label carries a huge amount of weight in the on and off-trade worldwide - and especially in the UK, where its easy-to-drink reputation has made it a stalwart on British supermarkets shelves.

Constellation could become more reliant on beer following reports of plans to float Canadian wine division

Published: 06 June, 2016

A shake-up up of Constellation Brands Inc's portfolio could be on the cards as plans emerge for an initial public offering of its Canadian wine business later this year.

Burgundy negociants plan Pinot Noir takeover with Languedoc winery

Published: 06 June, 2016

Badet Clement, the winemakers behind Les Jamelles, have unveiled a multimillion-euro winery in the Languedoc - part of a strategy to improve the quality of the region by importing Burgundy "philosophy".

Regulation changed shoppers buying habits in Scotland, says independent merchant

Published: 03 June, 2016

As with university fees and other devolved powers concerning health and education, Scotland has its own rules regulation when it comes to the drinks industry.

ICCWS: Millennials have a thirst for cool climate wines

Published: 03 June, 2016

As climate change pushes viticulture further and further towards the poles, a similar shift is happening to the type of wine consumer and the types of wines they are consuming.

Champagne de Castelnau celebrates centenary with new launch

Published: 02 June, 2016

Champagne de Castelnau is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year with the launch of its first prestige cuvée

Can wine learn from gin's Meet the Maker approach?

Published: 02 June, 2016

The team behind next week's Junipalooza gin extravaganza is demanding that the producers and distillers physically attend the fair - otherwise they're not coming in.