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Published: 27 April, 2022
Sustainability isn’t an optional extra for the wine trade. It’s a moral choice in that we can’t expect the next generation to pick up our tab. I had a friend at university who regularly used to come out to drink with us at the student union with just a single pound coin in his pocket. (Those were the days when one pound was enough to buy a pint of beer at discounted student prices). So he’d go and buy his pint and then rely on the rest of us to fund his drinking for the rest of the evening. He was always apologetic, and there was always an excuse. But I don’t think I can remember him ever paying his way.
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Published: 27 April, 2022
Overleaf you’ll find the full wording of our Sustainability Charter, launched as part of a new Harpers campaign to drive sustainability in the UK drinks trade and to which we heartily encourage you to subscribe. Those that already have, including our initial headlining Sustainability Champions such as Enotria & Coe and North South Wines, our Sustainability Partners, Lanchester Group and Bodega Argento, plus our early bird signatories, are also listed here. Moreover, there are focuses on the sustainable progress of many of those companies throughout this report.
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Published: 25 April, 2022
California is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the wine world, whether that be judged by size, value or quality. Accounting for some 90% of the US’s wine, considered alone the state comes up behind France, Spain and Italy as the fourth-largest producer in the world. What is more, California has carved out a high-end reputation, with investable ‘blue chip’ labels and other top quality wines to rival the best from Europe’s headlining regions, both in terms of status and the price tags to match. It is fair to say, though, that this has been achieved with more of a focus on America’s own wine-thirsty and deep-pocketed buyers.
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Published: 22 April, 2022
The past two years have been tough for everyone and Britain’s gin distillers are no exception. The various lockdowns and general uncertainty hit the industry hard and, while retailers and direct sales helped alleviate the shortfall, “the on-trade could never be replaced by home consumption”, according to Nick Cook, director-general of the Gin Guild.
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Published: 21 April, 2022
With glass recycling now definitively out of the deposit return scheme for England and Northern Ireland, the question of what to do with glass is back on the agenda. Could the future be reusable? Jo Gilbert reports.
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Published: 21 April, 2022
With sales exceeding all expectations, the drink for good times is back on top form, finds James Bayley.
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Published: 20 April, 2022
Supermarket wine ranges are continuing to evolve in 2022, as James Bayley discovers.
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Published: 20 April, 2022
According to a study released by Cult Wine Investment, an “identity-conscious” demographic of wealthy Millennial buyers are becoming vital to the prosperity of the secondary wine market.
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Published: 13 April, 2022
Cast your mind back, if you can, to the pre-pandemic rush of grape plantings that boosted English wine coverage before 2020.
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Published: 11 April, 2022
The concept of old vines has been a marketing tool for decades. From California to France and Spain, ‘vieilles vignes’ and other – unregulated – designations are a generally agreed-upon method of sending a message to the consumer. The message is usually about quality and development – how smaller yields and nutrient-rich vines are likely to result in more concentrated, complex wines.
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Published: 08 April, 2022
Having flown majorly under the radar in Chile since the nineties, when so-called ‘late-ripening’ Merlot was finally outed as Bordeaux varietal Carmenère, the grape has gone on a serious journey of self-discovery.
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Published: 06 April, 2022
With its menu populated by Central and South American delicacies, Paladar aptly defines itself as “the taste of Latin America in the heart of London SE1”. To match its geographical scope, the restaurant’s wine list consists of labels from Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, and Mexico. Chile and Argentina feature too, of course – South America-themed restaurants serve as their natural home. Elsewhere however, the continent’s two leading wine-producing countries tend to be relegated to the cheaper end of the wine list.
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Published: 04 April, 2022
The talk among Chile’s firmament of terroir-focused wineries is of site selection, with many smaller brands promoting sub-zones and regionality, emphasising the superior quality of cool-climate vineyards such as Lo Abarca in San Antonio or Los Morros in Maipo. Proponents of this approach have long argued that terroir creates added value, encouraging consumers to leap into premium styles.
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Published: 01 April, 2022
Looking back on Malbec’s ascent, it has followed quite a remarkable trajectory, delivering for Argentina the kind of hero grape recognition that perhaps only New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc can rival. In most of its markets, though, Malbec has firmly embedded itself a couple of notches above entry-level, typically with only a handful of rarefied listings on a more premium perch. In some ways, it’s a story reminiscent of Rioja’s, with the wines providing ample pleasure, accessibility and quality for just a small number of pounds above the entry-level.
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Published: 30 March, 2022
Buyers and critics alike share a snapshot of what currently excites them about South America with Sonya Hook.
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Published: 28 March, 2022
Both as wine producers and countries, Argentina and Chile offer very different profiles. The former has its hugely successful hero variety in Malbec, while the latter, having driven its reputation on affordable and accessible international varieties, is gaining ground as a producer of genuine interest and value in the mid-price range. Argentina too, with Malbec having secured a strong foothold at a more premium ‘entry’ price level, has been pushing its diversity, while climbing its flagship variety higher up the price ladder in independents and the on-trade.
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Published: 25 March, 2022
Canned wine has exploded onto the scene in the past couple of years as the next logical step for wine NPD. Picking up from the success of other products of its kind, such as canned cocktails, G&Ts and hard seltzers, canned wine has fitted snugly into a consumer desire for convenient on-the-go drinking.
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Published: 23 March, 2022
James Lawrence asks if merchants are ready to carry the can with anything but the 75cl bottle.
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Published: 22 March, 2022
Inviting a panel to taste and talk, Andrew Catchpole prompted a far-reaching exploration of the potential for southern France’s most versatile designation, in partnership with Pays d’Oc IGP.
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Published: 19 March, 2022
The blossoming of a British rum industry builds on the history of rum as a truly international spirit that increasingly finds its strength in both geographically blended and GI-protected areas of identification. Jo Gilbert reports.
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