NZ tasting: alternative styles playing expanding role in export growth

Rosé, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are among a slew of ‘alternative’ varieties and styles notching up a greater share of New Zealand’s collective wine exports, as “international appetite grows to expand the range”.

Friday Read: The Wild West of cannabis law

Look at any predictions for 2020 and beyond, and odds are that you will see the word ‘cannabis’. Looking back to 2019, a few key things set the tone for the next decade. Constellation Brands led the charge for the gold rush by buying an ever-bigger stake in Canadian cannabis producer Canopy Growth, with other companies clambering to get a piece of what has been called the next .com bubble.

BIVB becomes WSET patron

Educator to the wine industry, The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), has new backing in the form of Burgundy’s official wine board.

London restaurateurs call for wine duty cut

Spotlight on 2020: Simon Doyle, Concha y Toro UK

As we prepare for the new decade, Harpers will be taking the month of December to look back over 2019 and ahead to what the coming year will bring – hopefully full of revived optimism for both politics and the trade.

“It’s still a man’s world” say bartenders promoting sisterhood at all-female takeover

The opportunities for women to reach the pinnacle of their careers in the hospitality industry was one of the hot topics at a recent event at The Artesian bar, which shone a well-deserved light on the talent of the female bartenders working in the industry today.

Government backs down on VI-1 forms

The government has agreed to temporarily suspend the introduction of forms which were feared to create an extra layer of red tape for the wine industry in what is shaping up to be an increasingly disorderly Brexit.

Portman Group welcomes steep decline in drink-drive deaths

The number of deaths from drink-driving has fallen around the world, according to the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking.

SWA in crisis meeting with govt as tariff deadline looms

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is to meet secretary of state for trade Liz Truss later today to demand government action on the threatened US tariffs on Scotch.

New Zealand winemakers prep for bicentenary celebrations

Not many wine regions can claim to know exactly when the first vine was planted in their country.

Sustainability: a transatlantic conversation with California Wines

Harpers and California Wine Institute hosted an insightful and far-reaching seminar at London’s Design Museum, delivering the core message that the wine world is well-placed to better engage consumers in supporting the true costs of advancing sustainability. Andrew Catchpole reports

Scottish government calls for post-Brexit protections for whisky

Scotch whisky must retain its current protected status if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, Fergus Ewing, the Scottish government’s secretary for the rural economy, has said.

Mentzendorff ride smashes fundraising target for The Benevolent

The Mentzendorff team has once again picked up their bikes and donned their lycra to raise an impressive sum for industry drinks charity, The Benevolent.

Sustainability accreditation in the works for UK wine

A new sustainability and climate change mitigation scheme for the UK wine industry could be complete by the end of the year.

B.f.t plays hardball with visitors via individual vetting process

Visitors to yesterday’s Big Fortified Tasting would have all undergone a basic background checks, Harpers has learned.

Jeroboams and Rick Stein raise £5,000 toast to The Benevolent

Jeroboams, Château d’Yquem and Rick Stein have raised an impressive charitable sum thanks to an experimental evening pairing fine wines of Bordeaux with the "best of British” seafood.

Sales of English and Welsh wine double in 2018

The English and Welsh wine industry produced a record-breaking amount of wine last year thanks to a frost-free spring and a long, mostly dry summer.

Portman group tackles ‘offensive marketing’ in sixth code of practice

UK alcohol regulator the Portman Group has updated its packaging and promotional guidance for society’s evolving standards, including a new rule around ‘offence’.

Thc could replace abv as consumers look to cannabis for an “intoxicating buzz”

Experts have warned that alcoholic drinks is the FMCG category most likely to be under threat from cannabis, which will be at the heart of a “global paradigm shift” over the next decade.

Bulk selling in a digital world

The launch of a new trading platform for the drinks trade promises to disrupt existing business models. Jo Gilbert investigates