Looking ahead: Winne Toh, The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

With the first half of 2022 already history, Harpers asked key trade figures to highlight the current challenges, ongoing trends and opportunities.

Profile: Following on from FMV

Two years on from the dismemberment of FMV, Bancroft Wines is focusing on initiating its new producers into the ‘family’ in a post-Covid world. Jo Gilbert reports.

Pascor

PASCOR

Friday read: The future looks bright for ambitious Garda DOC

With prices rising for wines from top Italian DOCs and other producers – thanks to high demand and prices coupled with the collapse in sterling – these are tough times for the UK wine trade, with the pressure on margins tougher than ever.

Naked Wines profits warning sparks shares nosedive

Online retailer Naked Wines has lost nearly 40% of its market value after it admitted that lockdown-boosted sales and heightened customer acquisition is likely to see a significant drop in 2023.

Liberty celebrates 25 years with greatest hits tasting

Liberty Wines celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday at its usual spot at the Oval Cricket Ground, where the event took a greatest hits approach to celebrate a quarter of a century in business.

Profile: Vineyard Productions grows a head for wine

Home to ‘creative and collaborative winemaking’, Liam Steevenson’s company Vineyard Productions takes a novel approach to its portfolio. Andrew Catchpole dropped by to discover more.

Hatch Mansfield unveils new range of canned wines

The UK market for alternative formats was given a boost yesterday, following the launch of Wild Steps at the LWF.

Five minutes with Corinne Seely, winemaker at Exton Park

Jo Gilbert catches up with Corinne Seely at Exton Park about 60 Below – a sea-ageing project which aims to take English wine to new frontiers

Greek wines edge towards greater representation

Prices for top Santorini wines have dramatically risen to the same heights as Chablis says Mary Pateras, director of Eclectic Wines, a specialist wholesaler established 20 years ago, and which now imports about half of the Greek wines sold in Britain.

Innovation Report: The glass debate

Is glass creating a bottleneck in the drive to greater sustainability and can we change consumer perception of it as a strong indicator of quality? Andrew Catchpole reports back from Harpers’ recent Sustainability of Glass webinar.

Garda DOC Consortium seeks higher profile in UK market

The president of the Garda DOC Consortium, Paolo Fiorini, has announced plans to raise awareness of the region’s wines in the UK, following a study undertaken by Wine Intelligence.

Simpsons' Wine Estate unveils major expansion

The burgeoning niche market for English still wines received another boost earlier this month, after Simpsons' Wine Estate expanded its vineyard holdings.

Five minutes with James Hocking, James Hocking Wines

Andrew Catchpole catches up with the specialist importer after the launch of The California List to discover what is driving interest in the Golden State’s wines.

Liv-ex predicts ‘off’ vintage for Bordeaux 2021

A wet and cool 2021 is likely to result in “heterogenous vintage” for Bordeaux, with large gaps in quality between appellations and estates predicted to result in significant numbers of “indifferent wines”.

Displaced Chinese exports look for new home at ATT

A slew of Australian producers which have been forced to reorient themselves following China’s government-imposed trade tariffs were on show at Australia Trade Tasting (ATT) on Thursday, where a renewed ‘buyer-only’ mentality aimed to find new homes for wineries left with major holes in distribution.

Arribaes: The New frontier of Iberian fine wines

It is known as Arribes del Duero in Spanish, and Arribas Do Douro in Portuguese, but now Iberian producers in this cross-frontier wine region have joined forces to create Arribaes, a new brand of low-intervention fine wines.

Tim Atkin MW: Rising from the ashes

New oak can “pollute” Italian varieties, says Tenuta di Ghizzano

Tuscan winegrowers are increasingly eschewing new oak for alternatives like amphora, older barrels and maturation in stainless/concrete, according to a leading estate in the region.

Full steam ahead for Harpers Loire Valley competition

Merchants across the UK continue to sign up to the Loire Valley Wines competition, organised in collaboration with Harpers and the region’s promotional body.