Timothy Taylor wins Best Beer in Britain award at Great British Beer Festival

TED-style DisruptWine Talks to be central focus of the 2014 DWCC conference

A series of what are being billed as "DisruptWine Talks"  will be one of the key new features at this November's Digital Wine Communications Conference taking place in Montreux, Switzerland.

Price wars and discounters hit overall retail sales

Retailer price wars coupled with the ongoing impact of the hard discounters saw overall UK retail sales slip back for the first time in two years, according to the latest British Retail Consortium /KPMG figures.

Maison Sichel shows its support for independents by signing Harpers Best Practice Guidelines

Maison Sichel is the third major French wine company to support the UK independent sector by signing up to Harpers Best Practice Guidelines designed to promote open and fair trading between wine merchants and suppliers.

Harpers.co.uk introduces new dedicated finance section

Today Harpers.co.uk introduces a new section of the website that hopes to keep you up to speed with all the latest breaking financial stories affecting the global wine and spirits industry.

Treasury Wine Estates confirms it is in the middle of a bidding war

Treasury Wine Estates issued a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange saying a third global private equity firm has made a proposed bid for the struggling wine conglomerate to buy all outstanding shares for the price of $5.20 cash per share.

Big interview: Pierre Levron on why Costco takes wines and spirits so seriously

Costco likes to pile it high, so if you secure a listing there you can expect to see sales take off overnight. Pierre Levron explains to Andrew Don why the wholesaler takes beers, wines and spirits so seriously

For future growth Carlsberg must succeed in wine as well as beer, says James Lousada

As Carlsberg's specialist wine and spirits division, now called Crown Cellars, celebrates over 20 years, the brewer's UK chief executive, James Lousada, explains to Richard Siddle why wines and spirits are now so important to the group

Halewood International is always on the look out for the next "Crabbie's" says Richard Clark

Richard Clark, director of innovation at Halewood International, says the company is always on the lookout for the next Crabbie's, as it looks to drive innovation across all the drinks categories in its portfolio.

Final week to enter Harpers Global Design Awards

There is now a week to go to get your entries or nominations in for the 2014 Harpers Global Design Awards asa we look to celebrate the very best creative minds and talents in the drinks industry.

Three quarters of British adults have shopped online in 2014, says ONS

Richard Clark: we're always looking for next "Crabbie's" breakthrough at Halewood

Halewood International's innovation programme has been the lifeblood of a £270m-plus turnover independent drinks manufacturer and distributor that has reinvigorated many of the markets in which it operates. Andrew Don speaks to Richard Clark, director of innovation, about the company's new product development (NPD) and the importance NPD plays in the life of a 30-year-old business that learns from both failure and success.

Californian wineries look to make use of a trade loophole and build exports to Cuba

From this side of the Atlantic relations between Cuba and the United States would hardly be described as friendly. But, as Katherine Canfield, explains there is far more bridge building going on than you might think. Here she looks at how the Californian wine industry is looking to promote its wines to the Cuban wine trade.

Harpers new consumer report reveals key wine trends in the UK on-trade

In the second of our exclusive consumer reports, Harpers turns the spotlight on drinking trends in the UK on-trade and finds out what the average Brit thinks of the wine in their glass and what attracts them, or not, to ordering wine when out and out about compared to other drinks

Independents to compete in the Sud de France Retailer of the Year merchants programme

Your chance to vote in Harpers France Wine Awards and take part in France Summit

Harpers is once again looking to reward the very best retailers, restaurants, distributors and individuals that are leading the way in selling and promoting French wine in the UK in our second Harpers France Awards.

Diageo names Charles Joly World's Best Bartender

Diageo's sixth annual global world's best bartender competition came to a close last week with Charles Joly from the US beating 47 other mixologists in a week long series of challenges held across London.

Waitrose warns of lower profits but still shows growth

Waitrose is following its supermarket brethren Tesco and Morrisons with a lower profit warning, but the upmarket chain still is expecting profits to rise by 4.5%, albeit down on last year's stellar increase.

Put your football knowledge to the test in the new Benevolent Fantasy Football League

So do you think your football? Your Christmas Tree formation over your 4-4-2? Know what "running between the lines" actually means? Well why not put those skills to the test and take part in the new Benevolent Fantasy Football League - oh and raise some money for the drinks charity along the way.

House of Lords calls for drinks industry's advice on next EU Alcohol Strategy

The drinks industry has been invited by the House of Lords to send in its suggestions for what the next European Union Alcohol Strategy should look like.