Producers - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

New Zealand's new release tasting returns after three years

Published: 10 November, 2022

The New Zealand Winegrowers’ New Release Tasting returns next week for the first time in three years and will be held at 67 Pall Mall in London.

Californian Vintners Report High Quality for 2022 Harvest

Published: 08 November, 2022

Wineries across the state are expecting ‘a high-quality vintage for 2022’ according to the Californian Vinters Report.

Ramón Bilbao: Reviving old favourites

Published: 07 November, 2022

In 2024, Ramón Bilbao will celebrate its centenary, 100 years of fine winemaking that has firmly established it as one of the leading producers in Spain and one of the world’s most admired wine brands. However, since the start of the current millennium Ramón Bilbao has become famous for more than just great winemaking. Under head winemaker Rodolfo Bastida, who assumed the reins in 1999, and the ownership of the Zamora Group, the Haro-based producer has been at the forefront of innovation in Rioja Alta and beyond. While pursuing excellence, it has cast aside many of the conventions that led many people to brand Rioja as boring and predictable.

Hundred-day Sicily harvest promises “excellent vintage”

Published: 04 November, 2022

Sicily’s hundred-day harvest concluded at the end of October on Mount Etna following months of “favourable” weather contributing to healthy grapes and ultimately an “excellent vintage”.

New Zealand exports hit new high

Published: 31 October, 2022

The value of New Zealand wine in international markets has reached a record-breaking high, New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) has revealed, with exports for the past 12 months reaching NZ$2.03 billion.

Ventoux whites look to climb new heights

Published: 27 October, 2022

The Ventoux region – home to the one of the most recognisable landmarks of the Tour de France – is leaning into its white production as it unveils its plans for growth in the UK.

Sandridge Barton estimates 80,000 bottles after bumper harvest

Published: 24 October, 2022

Sandridge Barton, the home of Sharpham Wine, is toasting a bumper harvest after collecting more than 80 tonnes of grapes, enough for approximately 80,000 bottles.

Extreme summer shrinks Cava harvest in 2022

Published: 19 October, 2022

Cava's regulatory council has issued a statement about the difficult growing season this year, characterised by “continuous and above-average high temperatures, along with successive heat waves in late spring and early summer.”

Green light for Vineyards of Alava appellation in Rioja Alavesa

Published: 19 October, 2022

The Basque government has authorised the Vineyards of Alava appellation (PDO) for wine producers in Rioja Alavesa, the Rioja sub-region which forms part of the Basque Country in Northern Spain.

Gran Orden de Caballeros welcomes three new members

Published: 19 October, 2022

At a gala dinner held at the Savoy hotel yesterday (18 October), three ‘leading lights of the Spanish wine industry in the UK’ were invested into the order.

Small producers slip through the net for duty relief

Published: 14 October, 2022

WineGB has criticised the set up of the government’s duty relief scheme which effectively denies small wine producers support.

Georgia uncovered

Published: 13 October, 2022

There’s nowhere in the wine world quite like Georgia. Anyone visiting the country will have heard this mantra. It seems to accompany any discussion of the country’s wines, with their unique qvevris – egg-shaped earthenware buried underground – helping to make wine on the slopes of the South Caucasus for some 8,000 years.

Headline Heroes: Austria’s emerging gem

Published: 13 October, 2022

Being recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site certainly helps turn heads when Austria’s Neusiedlersee DAC tells its as yet largely unknown story. Not least because this relatively compact appellation, with 6,239ha of vineyards wrapped around the eastern and southern half of the lake from which it takes its name, combines diverse terroirs with the ability to produce high-quality wines that reflect the status of the region. Moreover, this is Austria’s sunniest winegrowing area, but with cool nights matching warm growing days, all moderated by the lake. And the resultant wines are typified by cool fruit character and fresh, delicate acidity, which can deliver an appealing combination of elegance and depth.

Italy's northeast: A cool and crisp offer for the UK

Published: 13 October, 2022

Industrious, dynamic and diverse, northeast Italy is one of the nation’s viticultural powerhouses. Yet the region has arguably become a victim of its own success: exports to the UK are largely dominated by Prosecco and other internationally renowned styles, such as Amarone and Pinot Grigio. A great deal of excellent wine, very much on-trend in terms of moderate alcohol, has been sidelined. However, with consumers starting to grasp the profusion of what northeast Italy can offer, key stakeholders have a renewed focus on bringing esoteric styles to our indie merchants and restaurants in 2022.

2022 Douro harvest: “We faced some of the greatest challenges that our family has seen”

Published: 12 October, 2022

Following the theme in many European wine-growing regions this year, the 2022 Douro harvest has now been confirmed as the earliest ever recorded in the region.

Casa Real: Thirty years of excellence

Published: 10 October, 2022

Casa Real is a fitting poster child for the agrarian revolution sweeping across Chile today. The nation’s winegrowers, passionate and highly driven, continue to refine their knowledge of local soils, matching the vine variety to the place. “Casa Real represents an apex of terroir expression in the Maipo Valley. Since the wine’s inception in the 1980s, our journey has been a legacy of understanding the environment,” says Santa Rita winemaker Sebastián Labbé. “We are custodians of the soil – nothing less.”

Vranken-Pommery tests the waters of vine density in English ‘trials’

Published: 07 October, 2022

Vranken-Pommery’s English wine ‘trials’ at its Pinglestone Estate in Hampshire could prompt viticulture changes in Champagne, the house has said, with Pinglestone being used as a ‘laboratory’ where findings on lowering vine density could be taken across the Channel.

Ridgeview has high hopes for 2022 harvest

Published: 04 October, 2022

English sparkling wine estate Ridgeview has announced its ambitions for the 2022 harvest, citing the soaring summer temperatures as a significant contributor to excellent growing conditions.

Amarone has an image problem, says leading producer

Published: 03 October, 2022

The Amarone della Valpolicella category needs to embrace change and restore its former global cachet, according to Stefano Cesari, owner of Brigaldara winery in the Veneto region.