Premium bottled ale is set to be a £1bn category by 2020 as demand rises

 The premium bottled ale category is on course to be worth £1 billion by 2020 if current trends and interest in craft beers and premium ales continues, according to leading brewer Marston's.

Felix Solis claims it can be "category captain" for Spain for multiple retailers

Felix Solis is in the position to act as "category captain" for Spain for any of the major UK retailers, according to Félix Solís Ramos, the group's export and marketing manager. 

World Cup boosts sparkling wine sales by 25% in week one

The World Cup's first week saw off-trade sparkling wine sales up 25%, but beer and cider were the real winners with sales boosted by well over 40% thanks to the football.

Wines Direct offers insights as well as new customers for major online wine players

Specialist online aggregator site, Wines Direct, is now able to give its users the chance to pick out the most popular wines by price, style, country or brand from the UK's leading multiple wine retail sites based on the behavior of its 130,000 unique users a month.

Last chance to play in the Harpers World Cup Predictions game

Today's your last chance to stare in to that Brazilian crystal ball and take part in the Harpers World Cup Predictathonand win a whole load of wine along the way. Which is a lot more than the England football team will be winning this summer.

Brewd.com hopes to attract craft beer fans to new social network and beers' sales site

Brewd.com is a new specialist website which hopes to not only promote and sell beers from the best British microbreweries, but also act as a social network for those interested in the new trend for craft beers.

Wines over £5 account for almost half of supermarket sales

Morrisons to cut 2,600 jobs

Morrisons is planning to cut 2,600 jobs as a result of a new management structure in stores.

Drinks trade backs England to drive sales during World Cup

The drinks trade is eagerly anticipating tonight's England match to drive beer consumption across the on and off-trade - although one in 10 pub goers will choose wine as their match tipple.

Independent merchants who work together can boost sales by £30k per year

Independent merchants who work together on the high street could boost their sales by up to £30,000 annually, according to a new report from American Express.

Underage alcohol sales have fallen, but proxy purchasing is rising

Retailers have made major progress in driving down underage alcohol sales, but proxy purchasing is on the increase, according to a new report.

Majestic boss says wine price inflation has stymied growth

Speaking to Harpers.co.uk following the group's results yesterday, Steve Lewis described the group's total sales growth of 1.4% to £278.2 million as "not where I'd want it to be", adding that the combination of poor harvests and duty increases had made for "difficult trading conditions".

Wine trade has lucrative opportunity through mobile technology

The wine industry has historically been slow to cash in on mobile technology, but the time is right for the trade to ramp up its approach.

Majestic Wine profits flat in 'difficult year' as investment planned

Majestic Wine has reported a small dip in like-for-like sales, down 0.1%, but fine wine sales have rocketed by a fifth while Provence rosé is up 84%.

Wine still one of the most heavily promoted grocery categories

Almost six out of every 10 bottles of wine are sold on promotion in the UK, according to figures from Nielsen for the past year. 

BrewDog sees profits skyrocket to £2.3 million

Maverick Scottish brewer and pub operator BrewDog has seen its profits skyrocket by 383% to £2.3 million for 2013, with turnover up 70% to £18 million.

Rioja needs own wine trade tasting week to compete at top end

Rioja needs to introduce its own trade tasting week, if it is to compete at the top end with Bordeaux or Burgundy, says a senior UK buyer.

Laithwaite's pioneers online recommendations with Amazon-style service

Laithwaite's is offering customers Amazon-style tasting recommendations based on an algorithm that creates a taste fingerprint for each wine on its website.

Britain's shoppers now too savvy to buy solely on promotion, says Nielsen

Britain's grocery shoppers are no longer tempted to buy just because something's on promotion, according to data from analysts Nielsen.

Corks Out and Le Vignoble are Top Merchants of the Year in Harpers Awards

Corks Out in the North West and Le Vignoble in Plymouth have been named best large and small Top Merchants of the Year in the Harpers Awards 2014 announced last night at London's Hurlingham Club.