- Home
- People & Opinion
The new ad for Penfolds Grange is, essentially, everything that Australian wine shouldn’t be right now. Bland, weighty, pretentious, lavishly produced but devoid of place or identity. Or, as Penfolds describes it: “The shimmer of discovery lingers at the edge of perception. Vivid, layered with contrast and elusive qualities: Grange’s emotional terrain. A world in a moment.” Even Premier Estates’ horrendous You Can Almost Taste the Bush ad, banned after complaints from Wine Australia among others, did at least reference Australia.
Read more...
|
Against the backdrop of an incredibly challenging chapter for the drinks and hospitality sectors, Brett Fleming, MD of Armit Wines, decries a government that refuses to listen to the trade.
Read more...
Harpers caught up with Anna Patrowicz from Palestinian specialist Nabeeth Wine & Spirits to learn about the ethos behind the business and what drives the producers in its portfolio.
Read more...
Published: 29 April, 2026
Human beings – or more accurately European human beings – have been drinking grape wine for around 8,000 years. Declining consumption and the multitude of pressures on wine businesses across the western world may suggest that is about to end. It isn’t.
Read more...
Published: 28 April, 2026
Harpers caught up with the ‘hair of the dog’ mezcal brand founder, who explains why he chose to introduce artisanal mezcal to Scotland.
Read more...
Published: 23 April, 2026
How was Spiribam founded and what is the ethos of the company?
Read more...
Published: 21 April, 2026
Could you explain your view on how we can bring more people back to wine?
Read more...
Published: 16 April, 2026
Lanchester’s Chris Smith talks Andrew Catchpole through the benefits of mining carbon data – and old coal mines.
Read more...
Published: 14 April, 2026
Twenty-five years ago, when Michel Rolland was in his pomp, I was lucky enough to have dinner with him in London. I arrived early and was sitting alone at the table ordering my thoughts. Two Portuguese winemakers saw me and asked if I’d like to join them. “I’m waiting for Michel Rolland,” I told them. If I’d said I was dining with Cristiano Ronaldo, they couldn’t have been more impressed. “Would he taste our wines?” one enquired.
Read more...
Published: 09 April, 2026
The forthcoming 2024 vintage in Chianti Classico is not one producers are rushing to boast about, preferring to look ahead to 2025. But for buyers with customers looking for early-drinking wines from bankable names, it may offer something more valuable than it might appear.
Read more...
Published: 07 April, 2026
Speaking from Denomination’s NYC HQ, Hamish Campbell runs Andrew Catchpole through spirits’ need to ‘find their Champagne moment’.
Read more...
Published: 31 March, 2026
Front-of-house was never my strong suit. I’d forget the daily specials, mix up orders and drop trays of glasses. I’m still haunted by the time I spilled an entire finger bowl of murky prawn water into a customer’s lap at the end of a meal. Safe to say his first date didn’t last long after that. I’ve always been in awe of people with the magic touch for hospitality – the servers and sommeliers who glide between tables intuiting the needs of their guests, able to multitask with ease and stay calm amid the carnage of a busy service. When I became a journalist it was a no-brainer what I would write about. Truth be told, the actual liquid has always come second for me. It’s the people behind the bottle – those who produce as well as pour it – that make for great stories. It’s those stories that keep me coming back.
Read more...
Published: 24 March, 2026
Andrew Catchpole sizes up Matt Deller’s ambitious changes at McLaren Vale stalwart Wirra Wirra.
Read more...
Published: 19 March, 2026
As a reader interested in the alcohol sector you have probably heard the news about the collapse of Brewdog. I was an early investor, one of the “Equity Punks.” Like many thousands of others, I was drawn to their proclamations of doing business differently. Well, they sure did, but not as we were promised.
Read more...
Published: 17 March, 2026
There are several dates in the calendar when I make a mental note not to go online. New Year’s Eve for sure (a nauseating mix of humble-brag highlights from the previous year alongside over-familiar self-help tips for the coming 12 months); publication day of Drinks Retailing’s 100 Most Influential (the social media fallout from which reaches similar levels of delusion); and, increasingly, the February tastings of various star names from the upper echelons of the fine wine world
Read more...
Published: 10 March, 2026
Jason Millar reports on a vintage that’s compelling in terms of both quality and pricing.
Read more...
Published: 06 March, 2026
Hamish Graham caught up with Loki Wines founder Phil Innes to find out more about his new restaurant, Trillium, and the wine ethos behind the venture.
Read more...
Published: 24 February, 2026
Japanese wine expert Nick Rowan encourages people to explore the full spectrum of the country’s wines and regions.
Read more...
Published: 19 February, 2026
One grey February morning our tasting team were ploughing through a bench of wines. Our task was a familiar one to many Harpers readers – to decide which, if any, might be suitable to add to our range.
Read more...
Published: 17 February, 2026
The founder of Marimar tells Hamish Graham about the estate’s inception and how the secret’s in the Californian soil.
Read more...
