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Wines of Argentina confirms UK office opening

Published:  23 July, 2008

As reported in Harpers in September, Wines of Argentina has confirmed that it will open its first-ever UK generic office
in London in the second half of next year.
MD Fernando Farr said: The generic office will bring us closer to our key export market, where we also hope to maximise our potential by implementing a strategic, targeted, consumer-driven campaign.'

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Wither Hills moves to Bibendum

Published:  23 July, 2008

Leading Marlborough estate Wither Hills is moving distribution to Bibendum, joining the rest of the wines of its owner Lion Nathan.
Previously distributed by Charles Hawkins & Partners, the winery produces Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc under the stewardship of Brent Marris.
Bibendum managing director Dan Jago said: We are obviously delighted to now have Wither Hills in the Bibendum fold. Brent Marris has already established a significant platform of sales in the UK, primarily in premium specialists and independents, and we plan to rapidly extend this awareness into the on-trade.'
Marris commented: An excellent foundation has been laid over the past five years by Charles Hawkins & Partners. Wither Hills' further growth can now be facilitated by Bibendum's management and sales team, who have huge strength in the UK trade.'

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Corks blamed for early Burgundy oxidation

Published:  23 July, 2008

Two years ago, rumours began to circulate that many of the top 1996 white Burgundies seemed to have suddenly oxidised. A couple of friends asked me if I had encountered any bad bottles. I hadn't, but I opened a few from my cellar: no problems. I was lucky. At first, it seemed to be only the 1996s causing concern, but as time went on, it became obvious that there was a problem, and it was widespread.

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Tanners snaps up Platt

Published:  23 July, 2008

Shrewsbury-based independent wine merchant Tanners Wines has stepped across the border into Wales for its latest acquisition: Terry Platt Wine Merchants.
Tanners has bought the entire share capital of Llandudno-based Terry Platt, which has been supplying hotels and restaurants since 1962 and is currently the IWC Welsh Wine Merchant of the Year. The day-to-day running of Terry Platt will not be changed, however, with MD Jeremy Platt continuing to head up the company, and the entire Platt staff will continue in the company's Llandudno headquarters.

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U-turn on pension investments

Published:  23 July, 2008

UK wine merchants were dealt a nasty surprise this week when Chancellor Gordon Brown announced that fine wine investments would not be subject to tax relief when included in Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs).

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SA winery owner killed

Published:  23 July, 2008

The owner of South African winery Veenwouden was shot dead last week in what appears to have been a family dispute.
Deon van der Walt, 47, who was based in Switzerland, and a highly successful opera singer, was found with a gunshot wound to the chest at the estate, which is outside Paarl. The body of his father, Charles, was found nearby, with a gunshot wound to the temple.

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Drink the best from the writers' cellars

Published:  23 July, 2008

Harpers has teamed up with wine trade charity The Wine and Spirit Trades' Benevolent Society to offer readers the exclusive chance to bid for a case of fine wines selected by
a panel of leading journalists from their very own cellars.

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Shaw's eponymous range

Published:  23 July, 2008

Former Rosemount winemaker Philip Shaw is to launch an eponymous range of wines at next year's Australia Day Tastings.

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2005 and all that

Published:  23 July, 2008

2005 will probably be best remembered for the arrival of 24-hour drinking in the UK. But along with the consolidation express continuing to whistle through the trade, wine terrorists making their presence felt in France and the rise and fall of SIPPs, there's been plenty of other headlines.
David Williams reviews the year as it appeared in Harpers
Licensing
As well as being historic, the decision to introduce 24-hour drinking was also, depending on who you spoke to, the beginning of the end of civilisation, the dawn of a continental-style drinking culture or an unnecessarily complicated botch job. Time will tell which of the first two analyses is more correct, although Harpers inclines to the view that the smaller the window of drinking opportunity, the bigger the binge - and, as far as we're aware, all hell did not break loose on 24 November when the act came into force.

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Treasure the island

Published:  23 July, 2008

Tragedy may be too strong a word, but it is certainly a sad irony, a missed opportunity, a shame: even restaurants that proudly splash the sauce madre over the pigeon and the sauce Prigueux over the quail, even restaurants that have AA and Michelin stars and have won awards for the best wine list
in the UK often don't have even a bottle of 5-, 10- or 15-year-old Bual or Malmsey on that list, let alone one of the exciting new Colheitas or thrilling venerable Soleras or Vintages. A great range of wines, of astonishing complexity, intensity, longevity and personality, is relegated to a sweetener for demi-glace.

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Rum producer backs Flintoff testimonial

Published:  23 July, 2008

He is the hot favourite for this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, and Andrew Freddie' Flintoff got his hands on another trophy - The Cockspur Cup - when the rum producer signed up as a partner for the all-rounder's testimonial year in 2006. The cup goes to the winner of the English Cricket Board's national knockout competition, and Cockspur is on course for a 500,000 investment in the English game. The brand is represented in the UK by Halewood International.

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Butler tipped to purchase Lanson

Published:  23 July, 2008

Butler Capital Partners is believed to be on the verge of buying Champagne house Lanson International. A report in French newspaper Les Echos claimed that private-equity firm Butler will pay e520 million for the company, which would cover Lanson's e400-million debt. Lanson is owned by the Mora family (56% share) and savings bank Caisses d'Espargne (44%).
If Butler is unsuccessful, then French entrepreneur Jean-Claude Darmon looks the likely winner, after the third bidder - Champagne group Boizel Chanoine Champagne - was eliminated. Its bid was some 25% lower than the other two. Some 15 companies were originally in the running to buy Lanson, including Champagne company Group Thinot.
Lanson was unavailable for comment this week.

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Lord's tops Harpers tasting test averages

Published:  23 July, 2008

Lord's Cricket Ground is the best venue in the UK for tastings, and the annual generic shindigs of Wines of Chile and Wines of South Africa are the best single events, according to a poll of tastings organisers and attendees conducted by Harpers.

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Bordeaux squares up

Published:  23 July, 2008

The Bordeaux seminar held as part of the Renaissance of the French Vineyard event - the two-day festival of food and wine at Raymond Blanc's Manoir aux Quat' Saisons on 21-22 November - addressed some of the most urgent questions relating to the world's largest fine-wine region.

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Questions remain over SIPPs reform

Published:  23 July, 2008

HM Revenue & Customs has still not released full details of the proposed changes to self-invested pension portfolios (SIPPs) - which will allow fine wine to be included in a portfolio (and be eligible for tax relief) - despite the new laws expected to come into force by April.

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Quintassential for the future

Published:  23 July, 2008

A grandfather's rusty old megaphone stuffed unceremoniously into the hedge of a quinta that had to be sold in the battle for survival - a poignant reminder of the bleak postwar years when the Port trade itself almost went under. But when the Symingtons recovered the megaphone in 1998, Dow's bicentennial year, they had bought back the estate, Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, that Dow's had been forced to sell in 1954. They had already purchased (in 1989) and renovated the huge historic estate on the opposite south bank of the Douro Superior - Quinta do Vesuvio - and in 1999, three of the younger Symington partners took on the neighbouring Quinta do Vale de Malhadas. In the five years since then (2000-04), Symington Family Estates has invested a further e36 million in major capital projects.

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Cava for Cavendish

Published:  23 July, 2008

Edward Cavendish & Sons is making its first move into Spanish wine with the addition of the premium Cavas from the house of Nadal to its portfolio.
Sourced from the Cava heartlands of Penedes, the three-strong range - Nadal Brut, Nadal Rosado Brut and 2000 Nadal Brut Especial Gran Reserva - range in price from 8.99 to 9.99.

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Hallgarten extends in Oz

Published:  23 July, 2008

Following Hallgarten's decision to end its distribution of the wine from Beelgara and invest in fellow Australian company Berton Vineyards, the distributor has announced that it is restructuring its Australian range.

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Don't shave me', say ad chiefs

Published:  23 July, 2008

Blavod Extreme Spirits, which produces a black vodka, has been forced to amend its first-ever national TV advertising campaign, after an industry watchdog objected to the words shave me'.

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Champagne grower plants vineyard in Hants

Published:  23 July, 2008

After years of speculation and rumour, a Champagne producer has finally taken the plunge and planted a vineyard in southern England. But it's a small grower from Avize and not a well-known house that has made the first move, planting 3 hectares (ha) of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir near Hambledon in Hampshire.

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