1. Home
2. News

The week that was

Top stories: Craft drinks, the Indian wine market and a comeback for Silvaner were some of our best-read stories this week as Harpers looked beyond the UK to some of the trends percolating in the wider world.

Research from the IWSR and Mintel both highlighted the changing momentum of the craft movement which largely originated in the US – and where consumer appetite for craft spirits is still growing.

For beer however, Mintel suggested product development has now flipped from the US to Europe and specifically the UK.

Could spirits follow, perhaps?

We also looked reported on the growing potential for wine in India, where 56% of the drinking population is under the age 35.

And at a recent tasting in Munich, Silvaner was picked out by sommelier Andrej Grunert for success.

Once Germany's most popular variety, Silvaner could be poised to make a comeback as one of Europe's great aromatic white varieties, Grunert told Harpers.

• Official launch of ‘maximum bubbles, zero waste’ fizz preserver 
• Women lack confidence in their knowledge of wine despite knowing as much as men, report finds
• Wine Intelligence's first Indian report shows ‘great potential’ for the industry 
• Silvaner makes a comeback
• Demand for craft spirits in the US shows no sign of slowing 
• Bancroft Wines adds Seppeltsfield

Analysis and Insights: Cognac has two faces, neither of which appeal to millennial consumers, our category focused feature argued.

And our Christmas-focused feature looked at the trends sure to help merchants prepare for the golden quarter.

• Festive Fuel
• Reinventing Cognac

People and Opinion: With the famous family restaurant group behind him, it seems Charlie Stein was born to be in the wine trade.

We caught up with the youngest of Rick and Jill’s three sons about business, family and keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive with west London merchant Vintners, which now supplies around three-quarters of the Stein list.

• Big interview: Charlie Stein, wine buyer, The Vintner and Rick Stein Restaurants
• Jerry Lockspeiser: Why companies with a lot to lose usually do