News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Eastern wisdom

Published: 23 July, 2008

When wine folk speak of Valpolicella, they are almost invariably referring to the magnificent hilly zone lying north and west of the city of Verona.

Cloudy Bay founder keeps it in the family

Published: 23 July, 2008

David Hohnen, the man behind Cloudy Bay and Cape Mentelle, has launched a new range of Margaret River wines with the help of his daughter and brother-in-law.

Pernod shareholders back Allied acquisition

Published: 23 July, 2008

Pernod Ricard is on the verge of acquiring Allied Domecq after its shareholders approved a move to increase the group's share capital.

100 face KWV sack

Published: 23 July, 2008

Some 104 people could be made redundant from South African producer KWV.

In a statement that will surprise many of this year's visitors to Vinexpo, the organisers of the biennial trade fair in Bordeaux have declared last week's five-day event an unexpected' success, with an increase in visitor numbers on the previous show in 2003, and a record number of non-French visitors.

Mixed messages

Published: 23 July, 2008

When considering Friuli, there are certain accepted truths' that need to be discarded. First, the idea that Friuli is solely a land of white wine production; this is largely correct, but by no means entirely. Second, the notion that Friuli (or Friuli-Venezia Giulia to give it its full and more proper title) is a compact unit, when in reality it is highly complex and variegated.

Tapanappa launched

Published: 23 July, 2008

Australian wine pioneer Brian Croser, Lynch-Bages's Jean-Michel Cazes and Bollinger's Arnould d'Hautefeuille brought the first samples from Tapanappa, their new Australian joint venture in Wrattonbully, South Australia, to London last month.

Costa leaves ICEP after six years

Published: 23 July, 2008

Joo Costa, the public face of Portuguese wine promotion in the UK, is to leave the country's trade and tourism office (ICEP) after six years.

The Kiwi Dozen come to town

Published: 23 July, 2008

New Zealand wine family The Twelve came to London last Monday hot on the heels from similar events in San Francisco and New York, to explain their initiative and show their wines.

The Interview: Mark van der Goot, Director, The Greyhound at Battersea Pub and Dining Room (SAV Pubs Ltd), London

Published: 23 July, 2008

What is the difference between running your own place and being head sommelier in a Michelin-starred restaurant?
As head sommelier you can focus all your time and energy on the wine list and its profitability. You also have lots of staff. Here, I am the sommelier, general manager and owner all in one, and the responsibility is endless. I've got 15 staff to look after, and maintenance issues that continually knock at the door. I'm very lucky because my wife Sharlyn is from a marketing background and she manages that side of things, but we had a baby boy last August so it has been pretty tricky.

The mother of all gins

Published: 23 July, 2008

Flanders, which since its partition has straddled both Belgium and the Netherlands, is the home of jenever (genever in Holland, genbre in Belgium and genever in the UK; traditionally also called Schiedam or Dutch Gin).

The Interview: Joy Spence, Master blender, J Wray and Nephew Ltd, Jamaica

Published: 23 July, 2008

Why did you decide to become a blender?

Signs of strains

Published: 23 July, 2008

Life for wine buffs just got a whole lot more complicated. As well as having to memorise the best-performing clones and the various training techniques, pruning styles, fermentation temperatures, barrel types and the rest, it is becoming increasingly clear they will have to learn the names of numerous commercial strains of yeast as well. And with names like VL3, BM45 and Lavin 31, it probably won't be that fun doing so.

Ellen keeps Mumm

Published: 23 July, 2008

Champagne GH Mumm has announced that Mumm is to be the official Champagne of the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team for the next three years.

C&C deal with Terra Mater

Published: 23 July, 2008

Cockburn & Campbell has been appointed sole agent for the wine of Chilean producer Terra Mater.

Banrock's garden of Eden

Published: 23 July, 2008

Constellation's Australian wine brand, Banrock Station, has announced it is teaming up with The Eden Project, the Cornish visitor attraction and environmental initiative.

Domestic bliss

Published: 23 July, 2008

Embracing the top of the Tyrrhenian Sea in a mountainous and infertile crescent, Liguria boasts maritime achievements that completely overshadow a viticultural legacy that dates back to Roman times. The Romans quickly recognised that the Ligurian Alps, responsible for the superb natural harbours of Genoa and Portofino, also provided incomparable sites for cool-climate viticulture and quickly set about terracing the forbidding slopes of the Cinqueterre. Although Liguria may no longer rule the seas, the Mediterranean continues to influence both climate and commerce. Resorts of varying charm occupy every inch of coastline, and viticulture continues to satisfy the demands from tourist and stevedore alike.

Language barriers

Published: 23 July, 2008

It may be hard to believe, but Lombardy, the most industrial region in Italy (its capital Milan is also the capital of the Italian press, Italian culture, Italian commerce and finance, and the fashion world), is also one of the most important Italian regions for agriculture. Not only does it produce grain, milk and cheese, but it also produces wine.

Brave words from French minister (but little detail)

Published: 23 July, 2008

In his opening speech at Vinexpo 2005, Dominique Bussereau, the French Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, promised robust measures to defend [France's] position in international markets' but stopped short of outlining any new initiatives.

Control feats

Published: 23 July, 2008

A conference organised by the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), held in Bordeaux at Vinexpo on 22 June as part of the 70th anniversary of the creation of the first French AOC, at once highlighted the desirability of a global system and the difficulty of reaching it. INAO president Ren Renou emphasised, We don't want a French system, we want a global system, and the more we all respect each other, the more positive the result will be'; while Alexander Tilgenkamp, deputy director-general of the Directorate-General for Agriculture at the European Commission, explained the administrative burden on EC institutions and the impasse in WTO negotiations on TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights).