Berry Bros steps in to try and save UK juniper plants for gin production

Berry Bros & Rudd Spirits is looking to help protect juniper plants, vital in the production of gin, by providing grants for three different growing areas in the UK.

David Siddle on why winemakers should fall back in love with goats

Goats have long been seen as the enemies of viticulture and of woodland management as a whole in the regions of Mediterranean climate. Difficult to manage and agile enough to climb steep hillsides or leap terraces they could reach the tallest growths. Left to their own devices a flock of omnivorous goats could wreck a vineyard in no time at all. Their reputation could not have been lower.

BrewDog kicks off 2014 openings with São Paulo bar

Stand out from the crowd and enter the Harpers Awards 2014

The Harpers Awards is your opportunity to be recognised and rewarded for all the hard work you do. With a host of categories across the industry and the on- and off-trade, here's how you can get involved.

Still time for you and your suppliers to get involved in Call Time On Duty campaign

There is still time to make sure your voice is heard in the industry's bid to get the Chancellor to finally Call Time On Duty and scrap the duty escalator on wine and spirits in the 2014 Budget. Harpers has also teamed up the Wine & Spirit Trade Association to give wine producers and drinks manufacturers the chance to take part in the Call Time On Duty campaign and make the government aware of the serious concerns they have about the alcohol duty levels in the UK. Here's how you and your supplier can get involved.

Natasha Hughes on the intricacies of changing appellation names in the Rhône

One of the most frequently cited Shakespearian quotes suggests that: "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet". In the clear light of day, however, this is a proposition that simply does not hold up. Would you, for instance, eat in a restaurant called 'The Rubbish Dump' or buy a house in an area known as 'Price Tank Town'? Nope, thought not.

New Zealand's 2013 vintage is 'one to remember'

Sam Neill's Two Paddocks acquires fourth Central Otago vineyard

Actor- turned- winemaker, Sam Neill, has acquired a fourth vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand, adding six additional hectares of Pinot Noir to his vineyard portfolio with the purchase of a Bannockburn estate called Desert Heart.

Casa Silva produces first wine from Chile's most southern wine region

Casa Silva has produced the first wine from what it claims is Chile's southern most wine region in the region of Chilean Patagonia some 350km from Bio Bio the previous most southern area capable of growing wine in the country.  

Olivier Krug talks to Giles Falllowfield about ID codes and keeping "Krugists" happy

I know his travel schedules are hectic but four continents in the space of one week seems excessive, even for him. In London, partly to see the pop-up Krug Kreperie in Covent Garden central market run in conjunction with Pierre Koffman, Olivier Krug is on a similarly lightening trip here after recent spells in Australia, Singapore, Canada and the USA. "I prefer quick visits where I can see lots of people in a short time as this means fewer days away from Champagne," says Krug.

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Rolling update: Key drinks figures tell MPs about the damage duty increases have on UK businesses

Leading figures from across the UK wine and spirits industry joined the trade lobby that took the Call Time On Duty campaign to MPs at the House of Commons last night.

Australian Vintage boss predicts strong 2014

Geoffrey Dean on how Australia's future could well be Orange

When Stephen Doyle, the renowned winemaker at Bloodwood in the Orange region of New South Wales, received a complementary message purportedly from an England cricket team official in early January, he was not sure if it was genuine. An avid cricket fan, Doyle sent a witty response, writing that his wine's "deceptively spicy aromatic movement through the air is likely to bowl you sweetly over". He was pleased to hear from your Harpers correspondent that the individual in question, Colin Gibson, is indeed the ECB's director of communications. 

?Let's finally Call Time On Duty: how to get involved

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association is leading a new campaign, Call Time On Duty, aimed at persuading George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to scrap the duty escalator on wines and spirits. Here's how you, your business and your customers can get involved.

?Interview: Dan Townsend on building fine wine brands at Treasury Wine Estates

The pressure on wine brands to succeed in the UK is nowhere more intense than at Treasury Wine Estates. Richard Siddle asks its UK head, Dan Townsend, how it can succeed with both mainstream and fine-wine brands

Major wine players must invest more in their brands to compete, warns David Dearie

It is vital the industry's major wine companies start to invest major sums in their brands if they are to compete against other drinks categories, has warned former Treasury Wine Estates chief, David Dearie.

Panos Kakaviatos explores the world of Dom Pérignon

Champagne may be great to drink anytime, but it is good to know that one need not spend too much on a fine bottle. During a Paris salon earlier this month, I tasted through some lovely bottles of moderately priced non-vintage Champagnes, including Drappier, Piper Heidsieck and Larmandier-Bernier. These and others provide well balanced aromas and flavours of citrus, brioche and a full bodied character, complemented with fine bubbles and freshness.

British drinks producers back London Collections:Men

Two Good, 2 Bad for 2013, 2 Hopes and Fears for 2014: David Gleave, Liberty Wines

As we welcome in the new year, David Gleave, managing director of Liberty Wines, looks back on his 2 Good, 2 Bad memories of 2013 and looks ahead at his hopes and fears for 2014.