Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Wines from Spain annual tasting postponed

Published: 13 March, 2020

Wines from Spain has announced that it will postpone its annual tasting. The event, planned to take place at Sky Garden on March 31 will be moved to a later date.

Washington State reaffirms commitment to UK

Published: 11 March, 2020

Despite a wave of cancelled trade events elsewhere, Washington State went ahead with its London tasting yesterday, with the message that the UK remains at the heart of its export focus.

Top Selection wins entire Duckhorn range

Published: 25 February, 2020

London-based wine merchant Top Selection is to distribute the whole portfolio of US producer Duckhorn in the UK.

Q&A: Anne-Catherine Vigouroux, French Wine Discoveries

Published: 14 January, 2020

Founder of Wine 4 Trade Anne-Catherine Vigouroux outlines to James Lawrence what visitors can expect from the French Wine Discoveries 2020 tasting on January 21, and the opportunities for French producers in a post-Brexit Britain

Events guide 2020: What not to miss

Published: 13 January, 2020

James Lawrence looks ahead to some of the essential trade dates across another busy year

Nero d’Avola named Britain’s favourite wine

Published: 29 November, 2019

Sicilian red Nero d’Avola came out on top in a mass blind tasting at Majestic stores across the UK.

Bellavita London unveils expanded events roster

Published: 14 October, 2019

The annual Bellavita Expo London is set to return to Islington’s Business Design Centre next month with a wide range of masterclasses, tastings and discussion panels hosted by Bellavita’s wine academy, BeWine.

Golden State pushes affordability message with £50+ tasting

Published: 30 September, 2019

California Wines staged the second of its annual Collectible California tastings at the US embassy late last week, in what the organisers described as “probably the most expensive California tasting ever put on in London” in terms of bottles opened and poured.

Majestic Wine announces first post-sale tasting

Published: 25 September, 2019

Majestic Wine has revealed details of its first tasting event since its acquisition by US private equity firm Fortress for £95 million early last month.

Amathus's inaugural tasting puts spotlight on ambitious plans to double its wine portfolio

Published: 13 September, 2019

Amathus Drinks held its first stand alone tasting of recent times this week to highlight what has been a major push into the wine category for the traditionally spirits-led company over the past few years.

Bon Coeur throws down gauntlet to wine enthusiasts

Published: 30 August, 2019

North Yorkshire based Bon Coeur Fine Wines is marking its 25th anniversary with the launch of a new initiative, which will allow “keen novices” to test their skills as part of a unique tasting panel.

Cambridge noses ahead to vinous victory in Varsity taste off

Published: 12 June, 2019

Cambridge narrowly triumphed over Oxford last night in a hard fought blind tasting challenge between these rival indie merchants.

Think France unveils array of expert presenters for masterclasses

Published: 13 March, 2019

Think France has lined up a fantastic array of presenters, including Rebecca Gibb MW, Greg Sherwood MW, Chateaux Lestrille’s Estelle Roumage and Richard Hemming MW, who will be heading up a far-reaching range of masterclasses exploring aspects of this seminal wine producing country.

Meet the Dragons at Think France

Published: 08 March, 2019

A Dragons’ Den-style session will decide on the best opportunities for French Wines at Harpers forthcoming at Think France event on 26 March at Glazier’s Hall in London.

Australia ramps up Prowein presence

Published: 05 March, 2019

Wine Australia is fielding a bumper crop of producers and wines at this year’s Prowein in its strongest presence to date in what CEO Andreas Clark describes as “one of the biggest and most important events in Wine Australia's global calendar”.

Enotria opens up craft beer following major deals with Compass and Bidfood

Published: 07 February, 2019

Craft beer was one of the star attractions at Enotria’s latest annual portfolio tasting, as the pressure to diversify becomes stronger and stronger at the top level of distribution.

Liberty pushes into new frontiers ahead of Brexit

Published: 16 January, 2019

An English winemaker, a French winemaker and an Italian winemaker walk into a winebar.

Diageo targets new Scotch fans with voice-activated tech

Published: 18 December, 2018

The traditional world of Scotch whisky and Amazon’s voice-activated Alexa system are due to collide this Christmas.

Waitrose introduces 100 new lines to bolster premium position

Published: 12 October, 2018

“Functional booze is not our game. We need to tell a story,” says Pierpaolo Petrassi, head of buying, beers, wines and spirits at Waitrose.

Californian producers target London and Edinburgh

Published: 20 April, 2018

The annual Golden State Tasting is to take place in Scotland for the first time to capitalise on the popularity of Californian wines north of the border.