Pernod Ricard calls for premium wine and spirits push in impulse for Christmas 2014

Pernod Ricard UK is aiming to cash in on millions of pounds of lost sales in premium wines and spirits in the impulse sector this Christmas by helping retailers encourage customers to trade up.

Consumers prepared to pay more for pricier wines, report finds

Consumers are prepared to pay more for a bottle of wine if it's slightly more expensive in the first place, a study has found.

TV comic Kevin Bishop to star in one man warts and all new restaurant show

Fed up reading about all those great comics, plays and turns at this year's Edinburgh Festival when you live miles away and have no chance of seeing them?

Justin Howard-Sneyd starts wine club for Domaine of the Bee estate

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW is following in the footsteps of boss Tony Laithwaite by starting a wine club for sales from his Languedoc estate Domaine of the Bee.

Farr Vintners buys Magnum Fine Wines

Farr Vintners has bought Magnum Fine Wines for an undisclosed sum as owner Alan Rayne has retired from the wine trade.

Australian wine Wolf Blass builds sporting links with new campaign

Australian wine brand Wolf Blass is building on its sporting links with a new marketing campaign called Above Beyond.

Lebanon and Brazil to offer specialist masterclasses at Emerging Regions Tasting

Visitors to next month's Emerging Regions Tasting will get the chance to take part in two specialist masterclasses and discover more about Lebanese and Brazilian wines.

Diageo's incubator spirits firm doubles number of places for 2015 applicants

Angel investor firm Distill Ventures will double the number of places available in its accelerator programme that helps new and growing spirits entrepreneurs launch and expand their brands and businesses.

Tesco and Morrisons stocks rate of return declines by around 30%

Both Tesco (LSE:TSCO) and Morrisons (LSE: MRW) stocks rate of return have declined by nearly 30% over the past year, further signalling the challenges that middle priced grocery chains are facing in the supermarket price wars.

Morrisons first supermarket to launch new green wine closure

Morrisons has become the first major UK retailer to use the environmentally friendly GL closure - which employs 64% less aluminium - on its own brand Soave wine.

'Normal' vintage kicks off in Spain as government moves to curb last year's excess

The first grapes of the 2014 crop are being harvested in Spain, with winemakers predicting a "normal" sized vintage of between 42 and 45 million hectolitres.

Chile's Santa Carolina switches from Percy Fox to Ehrmanns

Chilean wine brand Santa Carolina has ditched Diageo-owned distributor Percy Fox in favour of Ehrmanns in order to boost UK sales across all channels.

Liberty Wines adds Australian Tempranillo to portfolio

Liberty Wines has added Australia's La Linea to its portfolio, which managing director David Gleave MW says demonstrates the potential for Tempranillo in the Adelaide Hills.

Bordeaux's 2014 wine harvest to be up 50% on last year

Bordeaux's upcoming wine grape harvest should see a return to normal for the region, with forecasts placing it as coming in at 5.6 million hectolitres. 

Constellation Brands to buy Casa Noble Tequila to grow spirits offering

Constellation Brands announced last week its plans to acquire the Casa Noble Holdings tequila brands

Alliance Wine adds Celler del Roure to wine list

Alliance Wine has boosted its Spanish portfolio with the addition of boutique Valencian producer Celler del Roure.

Bottle Green's on-trade arm toasts busiest month to date

Bottle Green Wines' sales have risen 15% year-on-year to July, as the company took the biggest ever number of orders from the on-trade to date.

South Africa's Kleine Zalze takes on new cellarmaster

Most wine industry's challenges are no different to other sectors, says economist Mike Veseth

Mike Veseth, the celebrated US wine economist and blogger, has dismissed the idea that the dynamics of the wine industry are different to the challenges faced by other business sectors.

The Week That Was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

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