News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Social media data helps create the perfect holiday rum

Published: 26 January, 2017

Virgin Holidays has partnered with IBM and global rum ambassador Ian Burrell to create a rum "scientifically manufactured" to evoke the feeling of a Caribbean holiday.

Craft beer and gin exports follow in footsteps of Scotch

Published: 26 January, 2017

Scotch may be one of the UK's greatest export success stories, but craft beer and gin are fast catching up, according to figures released by Defra yesterday to coincide with Burns' Night.

Australian UK wine exports continue premium trend

Published: 25 January, 2017

Australian wine exports to the UK continue to show a strong trend towards premiumisation, according to Wine Australia's latest annual Export Report, due to be released this Friday.

Whisky adds £3.7bn to UK balance of trade, new report shows

Published: 25 January, 2017

The Scottish whisky industry contributes a massive £3.7bn to the UK's balance of trade in goods making it the singe largest net contributor, according to new research published by the Scotch Whisky Association.

Arbikie adds wheat and honey gin to range

Published: 25 January, 2017

Premium Scottish field-to-bottle distillery Arbikie Highland Estate has added a second gin to its award-winning range.

FMV to distribute New Zealand's Kusuda Wines in the UK

Published: 25 January, 2017

Boutique New Zealand winery Kusuda Wines has appointed Fields, Morris & Verdin to distribute its wines to the UK on-trade.

Chapel Down launches in France at Paris Fashion Week

Published: 24 January, 2017

Kent-based winery Chapel Down celebrated its launch in the French market with a high-profile event to open Paris Fashion Week last night.

Fever-Tree to post 75% sales growth in 2016

Published: 24 January, 2017

Sales of premium mixer brand Fever-Tree were up 75% in 2016, the company expects to announce.

PGI application to protect 'British' versus imported grapes

Published: 24 January, 2017

The chair of the UKVA has hit back at claims that the purpose of a new PGI application was to coin a popular name for English sparkling wine, but rather to prevent grapes grown outside the UK from being called 'British'.

Writer and educator Steven Spurrier named WSET's fifth honorary president

Published: 24 January, 2017

Steven Spurirer, the industry veteran known for staging wine's very own Judgment of Paris in 1976, has been announced as the WSET's new honourary president.

Sake brewery aims to revitalise whisky operations

Published: 23 January, 2017

The Wakatsuru Shuzo sake brewery is to reinvest in whisky production again following a round of crowdfunding.

Armit unveils rare vintage release from La Rioja Alta

Published: 23 January, 2017

Armit Wines has announced the release of the 2007 Gran Reserva 904 from La Rioja Alta, which will be available from 25 January.

England's smallest whisky distillery to open in Yorkshire

Published: 23 January, 2017

A Yorkshire couple are to build a England's smallest whisky distillery in the North Yorkshire village of Sutton-on-the-Forest.

Lanson inks new partnershipship with The 02

Published: 23 January, 2017

Champagne Lanson, one of the UK's leading Champagne brands, has agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with London's O2 venue.

Gifting and corporate sales leads to better than expected Christmas at Virgin Wines

Published: 20 January, 2017

Gains in its gifting business and expanding it loyalty membership by over a third helped Virgin Wines to pull in bumper sales this Christmas.

A look back at May's Brexit speech: What does it mean for the trade?

Published: 20 January, 2017

As we hurtle towards the hard Brexit scenario outlined by Theresa May in her speech earlier this week, there are two main concerns affecting our industry.

WSTA calls on industry to help prevent wine being "singled out" at next budget

Published: 20 January, 2017

The body which represents the wine and spirits industry is calling on the industry to make sure that wine is looked on favourably at the next budget.

The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

Published: 20 January, 2017

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have put together a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.

WSTA calls UKVA's application for English fizz PGI a "side-show"

Published: 19 January, 2017

The UK Vineyards Association (UKVA) has revealed plans to apply for Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for English sparkling wine, using the term "British Fizz".

French Wine Discoveries tasting mirrors upswing in interest for Gallic wines

Published: 19 January, 2017

The Wines 4 Trade French Wine Discoveries tasting marked its 156^th London edition with a new venue near Tower Bridge, bringing together 120 producers with dedicated focuses on the Loire and grower Champagnes, drawing over 500 buyers to what organiser Anne-Catherine Vigouroux described as the "most successful event" yet