People & Opinion - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

5 minutes with… Tristan Stephenson

Published: 25 August, 2026

The serial bar founder and author tells Harpers about the inspiration for his latest book, The Curious Bartender’s Vodka Chronicles.

Bottle Shock: Greg Lambrecht, founder, Coravin

Published: 18 August, 2026

I grew up in California with no prior connection to wine – my parents didn’t drink. Then at 16 years old I had a beard – I looked a lot older than my age. My friend said: “We’re going to bring you up to Napa Valley, and you’re going to walk in and convince them we’re all 21.”

Island wines: Gaining attention

Published: 13 August, 2026

What do Hokkaido, Essex, Pico, Gorgona and Tinos have in common? That’s right – they are all islands that produce wine. But Essex? Yes, it earns its place here too. Just why, I’ll explain further down. The fact is, island wines have become a thing just as Matt Damon’s epic return to Ithaca in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has got us all thinking about Greek islands. Greece, of course, epitomises island wines (though I would not put Odysseus’s Ithaca quite at the top of the list).

Tim Atkin MW: Symbiosis in the vineyard

Published: 11 August, 2026

Rowan Hooper’s new book, Togetherness, is a fascinating study of symbiosis, what he calls a “neglected silo” of scientific research. The subject might sound a bit geeky and pointy headed, but it’s central to the way that nature works.

Producer Q&A: Adrianna Catena & Gearóid Lane, co-owners, El Reventón

Published: 05 August, 2026

El Reventón’s Adrianna Catena and Gearóid Lane talk Andrew Catchpole through their remarkable Gredos-based project.

Buyer’s Spotlight: Patient Picpoul

Published: 04 August, 2026

While some trade commentators like to write about the death of appellations and the inability of European wine laws to challenge the agility of New World brands, I have just three words: Picpoul de Pinet. A runaway success in export markets, Picpoul de Pinet has become a household name in the UK, rising up the ranks to full AOC status in 2013. Still a staple of pub wine lists and ubiquitous in seafood restaurants, Picpoul successfully poached Muscadet’s customers in the 21st century.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is growth as a key business objective really a good idea?

Published: 29 July, 2026

Netflix’s share price took a tumble recently when its forecast for the following quarter’s revenue was below market expectation. This got me thinking about how we value what we do in business, and especially in the wine trade.

Bottle Shock: Leona de Pasquale, wine & tea educator, director & buyer, Camellia and Vine

Published: 28 July, 2026

I didn’t drink any alcohol when I grew up, just tea. In that generation it was the culture in Taiwan – ‘nice girls don’t drink alcohol’. Even when I was working in luxury hotels, I didn’t drink, it just wasn’t part of my DNA. Working for Sopexa, I was doing all sorts of wine and food projects, but I was there because of my media relations skills, not wine knowledge. I learned about wine, although in my first few months I didn’t actually enjoy it. But I liked the story behind [wine], and when we were doing a thing about French regional wine with French food, and taking it around Taiwan, one of them was Alsace. We had Alsatian food too and the wines were Riesling, Pinot Gris and there was a Gewürztraminer. That wine, when it was poured into the glass – I was in my early 20s – was the first wine where I felt I could smell not just alcohol. I could actually smell something I was familiar with – lychees, which we have a lot of in Taiwan. That was the moment I started to relate to wine and began to find it fascinating. I realised it’s not just ‘all alcohol’.

5 minutes with… Charlie Young, founder, Charlie’s Bottle Shop

Published: 21 July, 2026

As former Vinoteca star Charlie Young beds in his new wine shop in Stoke Newington, Andrew Catchpole listens in on his very welcoming and local approach.

Producer Q&A: Mauricio González-Gordon & Antonio Flores CEO and head winemaker, González Byass

Published: 16 July, 2026

Following the auction of a selection of its historic Jerez bottle library in partnership with Christie’s, designed to reinforce the ‘fine wine’ credentials of sherry, the pair behind one of Jerez’s most dynamic bodegas talk to Andrew Catchpole about innovation.

Q&A: Milena de Waele, head sommelier, Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay

Published: 14 July, 2026

Andrew Catchpole catches up with one of the most passionate somms in London to talk wine, wisdom and work.

Guy Woodward: Winning personalities

Published: 09 July, 2026

At first appearances, Gina Gallo and Jean-Charles Boisset make an unlikely couple. She, the third generation of the famous family – quiet, reserved, and very much at home away from the public eye in the winery and the boardroom. He, also from a family dynasty, arriving in California via Burgundy, and a man for whom every day is a photo opportunity – ideally in monogrammed velvet slippers, complemented by his own brand of jewellery and fragrances.

Buyer’s Spotlight: Moldova

Published: 07 July, 2026

This June’s Ultimate CEE Wine Fair cast a wide net, embracing major producers such from such central and eastern European countries as Bulgaria and Hungary, alongside less well-known ones, such as Armenia and Moldova.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Encouraging organic growth

Published: 29 June, 2026

The soaring temperatures across Europe and the UK in June should, ironically, be a cold shower moment. Between two and four percent of the temperature increase is ascribed to the effects of climate change that we have created. It’s a bit late to call this hot spell a canary in the coal mine – those birds surely died some time ago due to our inaction. It’s more of a slap in the face to wake up and dramatically change how we live.

Bottle Shock: Callum Edge, marketing director, Sugrue South Downs

Published: 30 June, 2026

I had a water-into-wine conversion. I studied theology at university, got a Wine Society membership and got the bug. I guess from tasting claret, but also just getting into exploring the wines of the world. I love food, I love restaurants, and I was writing a food book at the time – there’s no money in food writing, there’s no money in wine either, but I realised at least you can eat and drink. And then I thought ‘I’ll be a somm for a bit’, so I worked in some UK restaurants, and then in Dubai. The wine we were opening was astonishing, it was like Petrus every night. And some people could not be seen to be drinking it, so I’d be pouring it into a teacup, which was eye-opening. I left Dubai and joined a publishing company called Code; worked for food writer William Sitwell; then for Taurus wines in Surrey, cutting my teeth on traditional wine retail. I moved to the Noble Rot group and set up Shrine to the Vine. Then I moved to Keeling Andrew, its import side. After that I wanted to work for an English winemaker, and the one I had in mind was Dermot [Sugrue]. And now I’m here…

5 minutes with… James Clark, sommelier and founder, Sotto Enoteca & Trattoria

Published: 23 June, 2026

The time I spent in Australia and the level of hospitality out there inspired me. I fell in love with Italian food on the job – I worked for Vittoria Group in Edinburgh for a long time. Working alongside good chefs and sommeliers, I fell in love with Italian food and wine. There are 20 different autonomous regions in Italy and I think we’ve got wines from every region. You’re spanning 1,000 miles and a totally different range of climate, terroir, history and culture of winemaking. The most interesting thing for me about Italian wine is that native grapes are prized. It makes it fun as a sommelier, you can always offer a point of difference to people. We knew we would sell lots of Amarone, Barolo and Chianti, but Lambrusco actually is one thing that’s been really fun and interesting. There are loads of Italian wines that have suffered a bad reputational hangover from the ’90s, but if you get really nice Lambrusco, it’s such a good aperitivo. As a team we love Sicilian wines too and what we are passionate about tends to reflect in what we sell. Edinburgh’s getting to that stage where great restaurants are opening across the city, not just in the centre. That’s a really healthy thing that we should celebrate. The dining scene has become a lot more relaxed. More places like Sotto are opening, where we try to take the stuffiness and the intimidation out of things.

Italy report: Importer viewpoints

Published: 16 June, 2026

Italian wines have always remained popular in the UK, with Italy regularly topping lists of wine imports by volume. As many of these importers note, this is reflected in the continued performance of the category across several key areas – particularly when it comes to more upmarket wines. Clearly, the enduring trend of premiumisation plays a role here, and especially in the on-trade, where curious consumers are looking to explore the diversity that Italy has on offer. Particularly, indigenous grapes are enjoying their time in the sun, from the re-emergence of Timorasso and Dolcetto to the more obscure (Maceratino, for example).

Producer Q&A: Ayana Misawa, head winemaker, Grace Wines

Published: 08 June, 2026

Having landed the plum role at her family estate in 2008, fifth-generation Ayana has helped propel Japan’s elegant Koshu grape to greater global recognition.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Felix Hart and Tom Gilbey – answering wine’s communication problem?

Published: 04 June, 2026

Last week two things led me to think about one of the wine trade’s most perennial questions – how can we best communicate with drinkers about wine?

Tim Atkin MW: Learning from old wine

Published: 04 June, 2026

Twice a year I help to organise a wine dinner for a group of friends. For the next one, in Paris, my job is to bring the sweet wines and a selection of Grenaches. In preparation, I looked at what I have in bond and had a selection delivered to my house. Coravin in hand, I set to work.