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Australia Supplement 2005

Published:  23 July, 2008

Australia's rapid rise through the ranks to become the top supplier of still wine to the UK has been the most dramatic story of the past decade. Precocious, confident and dismissive of tradition, Australia seemed to gain market share without even trying. Now, with maturing markets at home and abroad, falling grape prices, profit warnings from Perth to Sydney and numerous boutique wineries operating on the edge of bankruptcy, are the good times for Australian wine over?

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Portugal Supplement 2004

Published:  23 July, 2008

Portugal has tough challenges to face in the UK market. A generic brand needs to be built, price points need to be pushed higher and the treasure trove of indigenous varieties needs to be exploited without confusing the consumer. But with the recent formation of the Association of Portuguese Wine Importers and a firm commitment from The Portuguese Trade and Tourism Office (ICEP) and its partner ViniPortugal to concentrate more resources on the UK market, there is every chance the wine industry can meet those challenges head on - particularly if they exhibit the same verve and enthusiasm that inspired us during Euro 2004.

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Goode takes over wine column at Sunday Express

Published:  23 July, 2008

Harpers contributor Jamie Goode is replacing Jonathan Bracey-Gibbon as wine columnist for the Sunday Express. His first column will appear on 10 July.

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Port Supplement 2004

Published:  23 July, 2008

Port continues to buck the trend for fortified wine in the UK, posting good growth, particularly at the premium end. But can this most traditional of products remain relevant in today's tough wine market?

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Bronco launches budget Napa Valley wine

Published:  23 July, 2008

Bronco Wine Company - famous for producing Two Buck Chuck' - is launching a $3.99 Napa Valley range.

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Thorpe leaves Waitrose for Western

Published:  23 July, 2008

Simon Thorpe MW is leaving Waitrose to join Western Wines. He leaves later this year after eight years in the wine buying department of the John Lewis Partnership grocery multiple.

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Irish wine-sales boom

Published:  23 July, 2008

Wine sales in the Irish Republic are booming at a time when the beer market has slumped, with a reported unprecedented' drop of 11.5% in the first four months of this year and a 9% fall in 2004.

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KWV Black Empowerment deal completed

Published:  23 July, 2008

The KWV Black Empowerment project launched last year has been completed, with 25.1% of the company's shares now belonging to the Phetogo consortium.

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Beware of complacency

Published:  23 July, 2008

Australian wine producers and exporters must beware complacency, according to Graham Cranswick-Smith, the head of Cranswick Estate before it merged with Western Australian producer Evans & Tate.

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Coquard competition winner announced

Published:  23 July, 2008

The winner of the Maison Coquard Beaujolais Design a Label' competition, run in conjunction with Harpers and Coquard's UK agent D&D Wines, was announced last week.

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Mondavi honoured

Published:  23 July, 2008

Californian wine pioneer Robert Mondavi has been honoured by the government of France as a chevalier of l'Ordre National de la Lgion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour).

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Chile Supplement 2005

Published:  23 July, 2008

If the 2004 edition was all about the new excitement that surrounded the Chilean wine industry and its hopes that it could increase its standing in the UK, then this supplement is a celebration of how those hopes have been realised.

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South Africa Supplement 2004

Published:  23 July, 2008

The South African wine industry has come a long way in the past decade, emerging from international obscurity to become one of the wine world's major players.

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Promoting discussion

Published:  23 July, 2008

Harpers drew a packed house at last month's LIWSF to debate how wine brand-owners can make the most of their marketing budgets. In the second part of our coverage of the event, Harpers presents the reaction of our panellists and the audience to the specially commissioned consumer research presented by Wine Intelligence and outlined in last week's issue

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Diageo's Walsh lectures trade

Published:  23 July, 2008

Diageo managing director Paul Walsh was the tenth high-profile trade figure to be accorded the honour of making the WSET's annual lecture. His speech, delivered on Wednesday 1 June, focused on what the wine and spirits industries could learn from eachother, but, prompted by a number of questions from the floor, Walsh also held forth on such key trade issues as discounting and distribution, the quality of Blossom Hill and, inevitably, Diageo's take on the Allied auction.

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New Zealand Supplement 2005

Published:  23 July, 2008

New Zealand promises to be favourable to the vine as far as I can judge at present of the nature of the soil and climate. New Zealand will be the finest country in the world for wine'. So enthused Samuel Marsden, an Anglican missionary, in 1819. Hardly a Richard Smart, Marsden's evangelical zeal for the vine was borne out of his efforts to civilise' the Maoris by teaching them agriculture and handicrafts, rather than commercial or national interests. Nevertheless, he saw the potential of New Zealand.

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Vinexposed

Published:  23 July, 2008

The organisers claim that the exhibition site has been totally reorganised, thanks to the recently built Hall 3, a permanent 12,000m2 structure that replaces the former temporary building. Standing to the west of Hall 1, it will house some 200 exhibitors, with air-conditioning, no interior pillars, picture windows and 10-metre-high ceilings. Hall 3 will also contain a 400m2 conference room that will accommodate a number of tastings and provide 2,000 extra parking spaces.

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Calvet Launches First Organic Wine

Published:  23 July, 2008

BORDEAUX - 26th May, 2005 - Calvet, the UK's No.1 Bordeaux brand (off-trade), has launched an organically grown Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon blend under the Calvet Reserve label.

Calvet is proud to present what it believes to be one of the very first branded French wines that is made entirely from organically grown grapes.

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Constellation given June 29 deadline to bid for Allied

Published:  23 July, 2008

Constellation Brands has been given until 29 June by the Takeover Panel in the City of London to make a formal counter offer for Allied Domecq.

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Napa Valley wins in court

Published:  23 July, 2008

The California Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the Napa Valley Vintners, thus ensuring that any wine that carries the word Napa' on the label contains wine made from at least 75% Napa grapes.

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