Champagne and Sparkling - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Headline Heroes: Crémant rises

Published: 02 October, 2023

The UK’s appetite for sparkling wine has led to increasing sales for wallet-friendly Champagne alternatives, and crémant ticks the right boxes. James Lawrence reports.

Italian sparkling round table

Published: 28 September, 2023

Amid a buoyant and still rising sparkling wine category, Harpers invited a top panel to assess the positioning and full potential of Italian sparkling wine and Trentodoc Metodo Classico wines.

2023 Champagne harvest underway with lower yield set

Published: 05 September, 2023

The 2023 harvest in Champagne commenced on Saturday, 2 September, and despite difficult weather during ripening, the region expects a “high-quality harvest”.

Rathfinny consolidates Asia Pacific foothold

Published: 31 August, 2023

Rathfinny Estate has announced a new partnership with leading Japanese importer Vin Passion, extending the producer’s reach in the Asia-Pacific region.

Codorníu taps into crémant sparkle

Published: 11 August, 2023

Leading Spanish cava producer Codorníu has launched a new Gran Cremant Brut Cava, initially into the Co-op.

‘Most buyer-friendly Champagne market in recent memory’ says Cult Wine

Published: 07 August, 2023

Cult Wine, the fine wine investment platform, believes the ‘slow-down’ of high-end vintage Champagne prices might provide an opportunity for potential investors in the coming months.

Codorníu invests in UK Market with London Ad campaign

Published: 19 July, 2023

Codorníu, Spain’s largest producer of organic cava, has invested heavily in a new London advertising campaign in a bid to become the market-leading cava by 2025.

Sparkling: Reasons to be cheerful

Published: 23 June, 2023

The sparkling wine market in the UK is changing. While the cost-of-living crisis clearly bites, there are some categories that are still – or should we say finally – full of fizz. Anne Krebiehl MW reports.

English Wine Week: Sparkling still on top

Published: 22 June, 2023

Yesterday (21 June), a panel of English wine’s heaviest hitters convened at 67 Pall Mall, chaired by Harpers’ columnist Guy Woodward, to discuss the trajectory of our homegrown wine and its standing on the world stage.

Trentodoc welcomes its first Champagne 'émigré'

Published: 16 June, 2023

Cyril Brun has become the first French national to take up residence at a Trentodoc winery, accepting the position of technical director at Ferrari Trento.

Champagne’s record year

Published: 15 June, 2023

New figures from the Champagne Bureau show a category in ascendancy and growing for smaller occasions as well as the big, celebratory ones. From here, the sector is looking to build its brand further, if only Champagne can continue to protect its image. Jo Gilbert reports.

Chapel Down stunt “raises eyebrows” among the Champenois

Published: 13 June, 2023

English winery Chapel Down has loosed the cat among the proverbial pigeons in Reims ahead of English Wine Week, by going undercover as Champagne – and apparently beating the Champenois at their own game.

Sparkling wine resilient as global market faces overall decline

Published: 07 June, 2023

OIV director general Pau Roca Blasco has presented an overview of the global wine market in 2022, delivered at the 44^th World Congress of Vine and Wine taking place in Cadiz this week.

Future-proofing Prosecco

Published: 31 May, 2023

Prosecco continues to build momentum in the UK and power onwards on a global scale. Lucy Shaw looks at the trends that continue to revitalise this seemingly invincible category.

Record Champagne shipments buoyed by quality-focused younger consumers

Published: 26 May, 2023

Champagne exports hit a record-high value-wise in 2022, with €6bn worth of fizz sales being driven by shifts in consumption from “exceptional occasions to more normal occasions”, the Comité Champagne said at its UK press briefing on 25 May.

Bolney to increase visitor capacity by 120% with expansion

Published: 22 May, 2023

Bolney Wine Estate, one of the UK’s first commercial vineyards, is currently undergoing phase one of an expansion to its hospitality and retail area, which will increase visitor capacity by 120%. The estate remains open to visitors throughout the work, with phase one due to complete in late Summer.

Segura Viudas launches first-to-market premium Cava in Tesco

Published: 19 May, 2023

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava is to launch exclusively in Tesco stores across the UK from Monday 22 May. The listing in Tesco is the first in any global market for this new quality tier.

Lea & Sandeman unveils 15 Grower Champagnes at Spring tasting

Published: 18 May, 2023

The saying goes ‘When one door closes another one opens’, and in the case of top merchant and wholesaler Lea & Sandeman, the Champagne shortage has presented an opportunity.

Sip Champagnes announces first US export deal

Published: 04 May, 2023

Online retailer Sip Champagnes is now shipping to California, Florida, Illinois and Montana, with talks underway to expand its range of grower champagnes in other parts of the US.

Green light for Vranken-Pommery's Pinglestone winery

Published: 03 May, 2023

Winchester City Council has granted Vranken-Pommery Monopole (VPM) planning permission for the construction of a winery at its Pinglestone estate in Alresford, Hampshire, where about 200,000 bottles of English sparkling wine will be made each year.