Who lives in a house like this?

Never mind the old woman who lived in a shoe, now you can be the family who lived in a cork.

Add value to the supply chain, or move over!

Little did I know back then, over forty years ago when I was just knee high to a grasshopper, how important my hobby was to the retail supply chain.

Dan Jago proves that customers really do come first

For all those skeptics out there who don't think retailers engage with their customers, we've got heartening news. They do. Pat on the back goes to Tesco drinks supremo Dan Jago for the following Twitter exchange.

Here's a right corking video for you...

Here's a video after our own heart here at Harpers Uncorked. As part of last month's Wines of the Beautiful South tasting you might have seen a special "cork" wall which doubled up as an actual live art installation.

A Tasting of BA's Club World Wines

Wine tasting of BA's club class wines on a flight to and from San Francisco recently. The wine was good, the company fantastic, and the beds magnificent. Try it!

Pairing Madeira Wine with Fine Cuisine

The evening offered a number of delightful surprises, showcasing how well Madeira can be paired with cuisine. For example, the foie gras pictured above was paired with not one but two wines, Hendriques & Hendriques 15 Anos (years) Verdelho, a drier style, as well as the sweeter Blandy's Malmsey 10 Anos. At the end of the pairing, Rui asked the group what they preferred, and most preferred the drier Verdelho yet it was a fun experiment.

What do the Village People, Tom & Jerry and sausages have to do with wine?

If you're not into worthy tomes on wine but do want to know what the Village People, Tom & Jerry and sausages have to do with wine, there's a new book for you.

Protect your gross margin from surprise supplier price hikes

It's an all too familiar problem Indies face. You sell out of wine, so you phone or email your supplier to order some more. The wine arrives from bond, DPD. You unpack the boxes and place the bottles on your shelves. Low and behold, within a few days you've sold the bulk of the wine you've just received. You're a happy little wine merchant! At least you are for now.

The Chief of the Week: THE Chief, Richard Siddle

This week, unbeknownst to him, we are raising a glass to editor of Harpers Wine and Spirit, Richard Siddle. The chief, as he is known to many, is a finalist for the 2014 Editor of the Year Business Magazine award by the British Society of Magazine Editors.

No 3 Gin cocktail winner turns to Beatrix Potter's Mr Tod for inspiration

Let's be honest the average top bartender is not the kind of person who would admit turning to Beatrix Potter for inspiration. Let alone the kind of bartender who would be allowed to play along the back bar of the uber cool City Social in Old Broad Street in London.

Meeting Cristobal Undurraga of Chile's Vina Koyle

At first handshake, Cristobal is very friendly, forthcoming, and extremely creative when it comes to his stories about how he grows, blends, and matures wine on the 1,000 hectare estate, with just 120 ha suitable for planting.

Guess who?

Can you work out who these famous wine trade faces are?

Visit to Monte Bello with the Legendary Paul Draper

A visit to California to stay with friends in Santa Clara, just south of San Francisco, started with the principle that this was a wine drinking, not wine tasting trip. No vineyard visits, just barbecues, some sightseeing, and a bit of healthy imbibing. So of course, when we realised that our friends lived about 20 minutes away from Ridge Vineyards, we called and made an appointment straight away. For my sins, I worked for Steven Spurrier in the early 80s while his wine 'empire' was still extant in Paris, so from this, and subsequent study, I was quite familiar with the quality of Paul Draper's wines, and the effect that the 1976 'Judgement of Paris' tasting had on Ridge and the other 'kids from the sticks' (as Bo Barrett of Chateau Montelena put it at the time), although I am not quite old enough to have been there for the tasting. I could hardly miss the opportunity just on a principle.

What are the chances of a pre-election duty cut?

News emerged this week that the Wine & Spirit Trade Association wants the industry to push for a cut of up to 2% in duty ahead of the pre-election budget.

Jerry Lockspeiser: why we should celebrate £6 wines not denigrate them

Wine selling for £6 or less is shit.  Not my words but those of advertising legend Sir John Hegarty at the Wine and Spirit Trade Association conference.

The Harpers Gang...here to entertain you!

Jerry Lockspeiser on some peculiar but inspiring winemaking in Mallorca

The first thing you see at the winery is a sign saying "HIPPIES USE BACK DOOR- NO EXCEPTIONS".  In the barrel room oak vats are identified by the names of rock bands - the Clash, Joy Division, Pulp and Portishead amongst them - or images of molecular structures. Outside the back door a large pile of straw bales wait to be wrapped around modern stainless steel vats, nature's insulation to keep her product cool.

Let's cheer Warren Adamson on his final push to John O'Groats for the Benevolent

If you've had a tough week of tastings, meetings and trips out to the Wines of the Beautiful South then spare a thought for Craggy Range's Warren Adamson who is currently in to day seven of a nine day bike ride between Land's End and John O'Groats.

Will the Scottish entrepreneurial spirit be the breakup of the Union?

This week saw the Yes campaign edge ahead in the latest "serious" opinion poll. As an Englishman with no connections to Scotland, this is indeed cause for cheer.

Chief of the week: The Dude

This week the Claret Pimpernel raises a White Russian to Jeff Bridges, whose new short film called the "The White Russian" was released this week by Kahlúa Productions, as a tribute to the drink he made famous in the cult film, The Big Lebowski.