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The week that was

Top Stories: This week’s news coverage highlighted the extent to which new trends could change the face of the modern drinks trade over the next five to ten years.

This came in the form of a new report, which showed the extent to which the relaxing of cannabis laws could “disrupt” alcohol, despite global volumes reaching a five-year high.

Elsewhere, there was a focus on the rise of sparkling alternatives, while Prosecco producers in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene region announced a campaign to encourage Brits to reappraise the quality of Italian fizz.

And the origin of wines, encompassing regional identity and whether or not this matters to consumers, continued to stir up debate courtesy of esteemed critic and wine aficionado Tim Atkin MW no less.

• Cannabis ‘the big green elephant in the room’ for drinks sector claims report
• Accolade appoints account manager for Fine Wine Partners
• Alastair Pyatt returns to Jascots as head of buying
• Prosecco producers kick off UK push for premium fizz
• Tim Atkin MW: Where wines really come from doesn’t matter to many
• Exports of Crémant de Loire wine to the UK soar

Analysis and Insights: Sourcing more cannily, focusing on quality and seeking out alternatives are just some of the initiatives that came out of the seminar on global supply shortages at last month’s London Wine Fair.

Read the full report on how companies, from logistics providers to producers are adapting to the challenges of buying, shipping and selling wine.

Picking up on another wine fair theme, we also looked at the efforts being made within the trade to ensure better representation for women in the industry.

And we looked at the resurgence of the port category.

Despite the overall decline in volume, there are encouraging signs that this historic wine is luring new consumers into the fortified fold.

• Thinking outside the wine box on global shortages
• Women in Wine
• The resurgence of the port industry

People and Opinion: In this month’s column, Guy Woodward turned to the sometimes strained relationships between enthusiastic merchants and time-strapped sommeliers, and asked whether wine lists should reflect trends.

And we rebooted our Meet the Buyers series to hone in on some of the best suppliers the to UK’s vibrant on-trade.

We kicked off with Doug Wregg at natural wine specialists Les Caves De Pyrene.  

• Guy Woodward: Are sommeliers followers or leaders? 
• Meet the buyers: Doug Wregg, Les Caves De Pyrene