News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Fattorini steps down, with duty plea to Chancellor

Published: 06 March, 2020

Wine Show star Joe Fattorini has taken redundancy from his day job at Berry Bros. & Rudd, blaming onerous duty rises on wine for the demise of his role.

Jascots launches Fernando Mora MW’s first vintage

Published: 06 March, 2020

Jascots Wine Merchants has launched the first vintage (2016) from Fernando Mora MW’s ancient, remote, high-altitude ‘Grand Cru’ vineyard - El Jardín de Las Iguales.

The wines are a Garnacha Tinta from vines planted in 1918 and a Macabeo from the vineyards oldest vines – planted in 1898, with only a very limited amount available of each.

Founded in 2010, Bodegas Frontonio is the passion project lead by wine maker Fernando Mora MW who, along with his partners, saved the ancient vineyard from extinction, purchasing it just days before it was due to be pulled up.

The mission of Bodegas Frontonio is to “restore the pride of Aragon” - the little understood, ancient wine region between Rioja and Catalunya with Zaragoza at its centre.

“Fernando has made wines here that are already accepted to be of Grand Cru quality and the extent to which demand outstrips supply in this his first vintage is testament to that,” said Miles MacInnes, managing partner, Jascots.

“We’ve been working with Bodegas Frontonio since 2014 and it has been so exciting and rewarding to follow the rapid and remarkable progress it has made towards establishing itself as one of the most important and exciting wineries in Spain.”

Critial acclaim received for the wines before their UK launch includes Luis Guittierez of the Wine Advocate marking the 2016 Macabeo and Garnacha 94 and 95/100 respectively, remarking that “[these wines are] quite unique, they have discovered something really important here”, while Jancis Robinson MW gave the red 18.5/20 and talks of the wines as being “…extremely dramatic with so much personality…..really fine.”

Mora MW said: “It was amazing for me and my business partner to see the reaction of sommeliers in the UK to El Jardín de Las Iguales, London has many of the best somms in the world and to share these wines with them is the realization of a major ambition for us.

“Our goal as Bodegas Frontonio is to save the ancient vineyards of Aragon and restore pride to our home vineyards, we feel very proud to launch the wines here and our dream continues."

The next vintage is set to be released later this year depending on its ‘readiness’.

Hardys focuses new branding around “certainty in uncertain times”

Published: 06 March, 2020

Hardys has unveiled a new look for its global branding while also offering customers a 100% money back guarantee with the aim of becoming “a top 10 global power brand by 2025”.

Friday Read: Wine ecommerce - learning from China

Published: 06 March, 2020

China has become the world leader in wine ecommerce and there is much we could learn, writes Emilie Steckenborn, founder of the Bottled in China Podcast.

Bill’s taps CBD drinks trend with ‘mindful drinking' section

Published: 06 March, 2020

Bill's Restaurant & Bar has added a ‘mindful drinking’ section to its menu that features CBD-infused drinks.

Kingsland launches lower-calorie canned wine

Published: 06 March, 2020

Kingsland Drinks has launched a lower-calorie canned wine range tapping into two key trends.

Prowein 2020 cancelled

Published: 05 March, 2020

Prowein has been cancelled following the postponement of the event last Saturday due to the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

Hattingley Valley releases first still wines

Published: 05 March, 2020

Hattingley Valley is officially broadening its stable of wines beyond sparkling with two new still wines soon to be released as part of a stand-alone range.

Chinese wine volumes predicted to fall 20% due to coronavirus

Published: 04 March, 2020

The Chinese wine market could contract by 20% or more and many businesses will fail as a result of coronavirus, two industry experts have said.

Emporda obtains White Carignan recognition

Published: 04 March, 2020

Spain has authorised DO (PDO) status for the White Carignan grape variety in the Empordà appellation of Catalonia.

Premiumisation arrives in Portugal

Published: 04 March, 2020

Portugal’s wine drinkers have upped their spending significantly over the last two years, according to a new report from Wine Intelligence.

Gonzalez Byass launches new UK Manzanilla

Published: 04 March, 2020

Gonzalez Byass is to release a new Domecq Manzanilla in the UK made at Delgado Zuleta in Andalucia’s Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Vinitaly latest to postpone

Published: 03 March, 2020

Vinitaly has become the latest trade fair to postpone its event, scheduled for April, due to coronavirus (Covid-19).

IWSR to launch coronavirus risk assessment tool

Published: 03 March, 2020

In light of coronavirus (Covid-19) continuing to cause chaos in the world of wine, drinks market analyst IWSR is gearing up to launch a risk assessment tool that will examine the impact of the novel virus on the alcohol market on a quarterly basis.

Nekter picks up Matthiasson Family agency

Published: 03 March, 2020

Californian producer Matthiasson Family Vineyards has appointed Nekter Wine Importers as its UK agency.

Rum sales leap 7% in the on-trade

Published: 03 March, 2020

Sales of rum in the UK on-trade rose 7% year-on-year in 2019, according to the latest data from food-and-drink research analysts CGA.

New GM for NZ's Neudorf Vineyards

Published: 03 March, 2020

Nelson-based New Zealand winery Neudorf Vineyards has promoted its winemaker Todd Stevens to the role of general manager.

Champagne Top 100 launched in London

Published: 03 March, 2020

London fine-wine club 67 Pall Mall is partnering with wine-event and education provider Scala Wine to launch The Champagne Top 100.

NZ targets indie retailers with Pinot promotion

Published: 02 March, 2020

New Zealand Winegrowers is to run a promotion for the UK and Ireland’s independent retailers offering three winners the chance to win a trip to Pinot Noir 2021.