Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

The White Hart: On the trail of English wine

Published: 24 October, 2023

Jo Gilbert visited the White Hart pub & restaurant in East Sussex to find out how the venue is looking to become a hub for English wine.

Gusbourne follows English wine boom with record harvest

Published: 23 October, 2023

English sparkling and fine wine producer, Gusbourne, has followed in the footsteps of several other domestic wineries in 2023, by announcing a record-breaking harvest.

Vineyards become the fastest growing crop in England

Published: 11 October, 2023

Wine grapes are the fastest-growing edible agricultural crop sector for human consumption in England, it has been confirmed, with recent statistics from Defra putting the growth of vineyard hectarage in pole position.

Nyetimber announces biggest ever harvest

Published: 29 September, 2023

English sparkling pioneer Nyetimber has revealed that harvest 2023 will be its biggest ever, with 350ha of vines to be harvested, up almost 8% on last year.

New look Wine GB leadership team looks to the future

Published: 05 September, 2023

Wine GB opened its annual tasting at Battersea Arts Centre this morning, with a briefing which sketched what the future might look like for the the UK’s homegrown wine industry.

WineGB announces new CEO

Published: 23 August, 2023

Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) has announced the appointed of Nicola Bates as its new CEO.

Proposals to remove ban on international blending in the UK

Published: 07 July, 2023

The government claims new proposals to enable businesses to ‘blend’ and ‘transform’ bulk wine on UK turf will ‘put a rocket’ under UK trade, by allowing businesses the flexibility to blend across countries of origin – though some say this will sound death knell for wines of provenance.

Vagabond opens English wine bar South Downs at Gatwick

Published: 23 June, 2023

Coinciding with English Wine Week, Vagabond, the award-winning urban winery has opened its second outlet at Gatwick Airport, South Downs – an English wine bar in the heart of the South Terminal departure lounge.

Friday read: London’s wineries offer ‘disruptive’ balance to English Wine Week

Published: 23 June, 2023

London’s urban wineries’ inaugural joint tasting this week (19 June) marked an intriguing counterpoint to the more regular medley of tasting, dinners and vineyard picnics that typically mark English Wine Week.

Profile: Defined Wine

Published: 15 June, 2023

A dynamic, Kent-based contract winemaker is creating waves across the English scene. Andrew Catchpole drops by to find out what the noise is all about.

Chapel Down stunt “raises eyebrows” among the Champenois

Published: 13 June, 2023

English winery Chapel Down has loosed the cat among the proverbial pigeons in Reims ahead of English Wine Week, by going undercover as Champagne – and apparently beating the Champenois at their own game.

Sam Linter says farewell to Bolney

Published: 20 April, 2023

Bolney Wine Estate’s longstanding chief winemaker is moving on to pursue new opportunities, following a transition period to new owners Freixenet Copestick.

Emma Rice to work as consultant for burgeoning English wine industry

Published: 17 April, 2023

One of the UK’s most reputable winemakers, Emma Rice has set up her own winemaking consultancy company to help further advance the burgeoning UK wine industry. Rice will provide expertise in winery design, equipment sourcing, sensory evaluation and wine style strategy as part of her consultancy offering.

Balfour outlines ambitious plans for growth

Published: 05 April, 2023

Balfour has revealed plans to double its annual production to one million bottles, made at the 400-acre Hush Heath Estate in Kent.

Friday read: Hampshire wines making their mark

Published: 24 March, 2023

Ahead of next week’s Vineyards of Hampshire trade tasting, Justin Keay dives into how the wider English wine industry has changed, with regions outside Kent and Sussex growing all the while.

Chapel Down to produce two million bottles from 2022

Published: 17 October, 2022

The UK's largest winery has published an update on vintage 2022 in southern England, celebrating “both the exceptional grape quality and yield”.

English wine news including new Hattingley Valley winemaker

Published: 07 July, 2022

Award-winning English winery, Hattingley Valley, has appointed a new head winemaker, Robert MacCulloch MW.

DTC sales give Gusbourne post-pandemic boost

Published: 08 June, 2022

The latest financial results from English wine producer Gusbourne have reinforced the strong position of the category within the UK market.

Five minutes with Alex Hurley, London Cru

Published: 05 April, 2022

Jo Gilbert talks to the English wine innovator about how the past two years have helped to super-charge the category via London Cru, the Roberson Wines-owned urban winery.

Balfour Winery to develop boutique wine hotel in Kent

Published: 28 March, 2022

Maidstone Borough Council has accepted Balfour Winery entrepreneur Richard Balfour-Lynn’s proposal to develop plans to create a boutique wine hotel in the Archbishop’s Palace, Maidstone, Kent.