News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Stone, Vine & Sun founder takes Waitrose buying job

Published: 23 July, 2008

Andrew Shaw, one of the co-directors of award-winning distance seller Stone, Vine & Sun, is to join the buying team at Waitrose.

The price is right

Published: 23 July, 2008

Last year, judges at the Gosset awards, a competition to find the best Champagne list in the UK, found evidence of what they described as shocking, greedy pricing which does little to encourage the uninitiated to try Champagne'.

Port - A drink for all seasons

Published: 23 July, 2008

With Christmas just a couple of months away, restaurants can get ready for a bumper few months of Port sales.

Hardy's CEO to step down in 2007

Published: 23 July, 2008

David Woods, CEO and MD of Hardy Wine Company, has announced that he will be stepping down on 30 June next year.

The Interview - Thierry TrigeauChef sommelier, Simpsons Restaurant, Birmingham

Published: 23 July, 2008

Thierry Trigeau, 44, was born in Rouen and has been a sommelier for the past 10 years. His previous experience was with the Brasserie au Theatre in Bordeaux, Restaurant Alexandra in Montreal, Canada, and at Thornbury Castle near Bristol, and he has also spent a short spell as a winemaker at a petit chteau in Bordeaux, near his home in Cadillac. He joined Simpsons, Birmingham's leading Michelin-starred restaurant, in January 2006.

Dates for next year's SITT event announced

Published: 23 July, 2008

Details of the 2007 Specialist Importers Trade Tastings have been announced.
The first event will take place on Monday 26 February at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, with the London tasting held at Vinopolis two days later.

WOSA boss will quit post in New Year

Published: 23 July, 2008

by Christian Davis
One of the best-known faces in the UK wine trade, Wines
of South Africa's (WOSA) UK market manager Sophie Waggett, has decided to step down.

GM vine trials may get go-ahead in South Africa

Published: 23 July, 2008

by Stuart Peskett
Trials aimed at producing genetically modified (GM) vines that are resistant to fungus will be carried out by the University of Stellenbosch, provided the government grants permission. And in a separate application, an ex-pat South African has asked for permission to sell GM yeast to winemakers.

Tesco dismisses speculative story

Published: 23 July, 2008

by Christian Davis
Tesco has dismissed a story in last Tuesday's Financial Times, Tesco to promote responsible drinking', as purely speculation'.

Penderyn goes nationwide

Published: 23 July, 2008

Welsh single malt whisky Penderyn will be available across the UK for the first time, after it signed agreements with Tesco and Thresher. The whisky was only available in its homeland and a handful of outlets in the UK, but will be on the Tesco and Thresher shelves as of this month.
Penderyn MD Stephen Davies said: Penderyn has come a long way this year with a successful launch into the USA, further distribution and increased sales in Benelux, France and Germany, as well as increased sales in the UK. It is testament to the hard work of a small dedicated team who have been instrumental in this success.'

Cullen is first in Oz to go carbon neutral

Published: 23 July, 2008

by Sarah Ahmed
Margaret River producer Cullen has become Australia's first carbon neutral winery.

Sales to under-18s show slight decrease

Published: 23 July, 2008

Alcohol sales to minors are still proving a problem for the Government, according to new figures released last week.

Beadles anger over headlines about health warning labels

Published: 23 July, 2008

Jeremy Beadles, the chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), has hit out at headlines which claim that wine bottles are to carry a health danger on labels to curb binge drinking.

Hilltop Wines to represent Washington State

Published: 23 July, 2008

The Washington State Wine Commission has appointed Hilltop Wines as its UK representative.

The Wine Show

Published: 23 July, 2008

It topped 10,000 visitors in 2005, and organisers of The Wine Show are hoping that this year's event, which takes place from 26-29 October, will top the 15,000 mark. So far, the signs are good: the show is 99% sold out, with just one stand remaining, and almost every major wine-producing region will have a presence at the show.

USA triumphs in GJE tasting

Published: 23 July, 2008

The best wines from California have trumped their French counterparts again, this time at a tasting conducted by the Grand Jury Europen (GJE) - dubbed The Judgement of Sauternes'.

Diageo praised for not supporting pay to fail'

Published: 23 July, 2008

by Ron Emler
Diageo has been praised by investment institutions for its attitude to severance pay.

Trade must face up to its responsibilities, says WSTA's Christopher Carson

Published: 23 July, 2008

Christopher Carson took the opportunity presented by the 12th annual Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) lecture to deliver a stern message on what is arguably one of the toughest challenges the drinks industry has ever faced -accepting the social responsibillity of selling alcohol.

New points system to grade Douro table wines

Published: 23 July, 2008

Three years after the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) took control of Douro table wines for the first time, it has changed its labelling regulations, with every wine now being marked out of 20.