Rolling update: Major retailers report mixed Xmas results, but wines still perform well

New Zealand and France hit International Wine Challenge's top spot

Morrisons full online grocery offer to go live on January 10

Morrisons has confirmed its first home delivery online grocery service will go live on January 10 which promises to make full use of its partnership with online specialist retailer Ocado.

Retailers use social media to make more consumer friendly wines

Retailers are increasingly turning to social media to help create new wines they hope will prove popular with consumers.

Meet Mark Jarman, head of wine operations, Morrisons

"We are developing a strategy that is collaborative and essentially, the rationale for this is that the buying role is massive with a lot details day to day. It is very hard in a traditional wine-buying structure to give the time and resources required to the sourcing element because it is a very complex sector and product"

Meet Trish Lorimer, wine buyer, Morrisons

"It has been very exciting. I have been on the sourcing team for two and half years. In that time it has changed beyond all recognition, with the focus that has been put on wine since Steve [Mosey] has got the team structure that he wants and the layout."

Meet Laura Sheen, wine buyer, Morrisons

"One of the biggest challenges I have been tasked with is Morrisons Cellar. It's a really interesting challenge and it is still fairly early days. We are really trying to get the message right around wine online. As part of the online buying experience, Taste Test is part of that design."

Meet Jonathan Olding, wine buyer, Morrisons

"We all have completely different strengths in completely different areas. It does help a lot to be able to have different members of the team able to focus on the very different areas. We have massively different experiences in wine from some of us with only a little bit too expert levels, but it all helps to strengthen the overall structure of the team."

Meet Georgina Reed, wine buyer, Morrisons

"As a buyer merchandising in under £5 and under£ 8, what is actually on the shelf the quality is there and we are delivering. For over £8, we need the proper quality of the wine to really come through. If someone is buying an over-£8 bottle then they know their wine, so we need to make sure we get that right."

Team Morrisons

The success of any team rests not in how good any individual might be, but how all the team members work together.

Steve Mosey on: Morrisons' wine opportunity, moving from supplier to retailer, suppliers and wine prices

Steve Mosey on: Morrisons' wine opportunity, moving from supplier to retailer, suppliers and wine prices

"We have a £100m opportunity in wine..."

Having been born and brought up in the north you know what to expect when visiting Morrisons. Dubbed the "Supermarket of the north", it was the place you went for the weekly fruit and veg and Sunday roast ingredients. It was different from other supermarkets; it was more like going to a big indoor market with different shops selling fresh meat, fish, bread and cakes. I certainly wasn't disappointed when I walked into the, unsurprisingly, spick-and-span Morrisons next door to its headquarters in Bradford last week. Dry ice floated across the fresh fruit and veg, and the usual line-up of mini emporia selling fresh meat and baked goods were all there along the back wall. Gondola ends were filled with good northern favourites like Batchelors Bigga marrowfat peas and boxes of snowballs.

Morrisons: suppliers overestimating lower-alcohol category

Wine suppliers are massively overestimating the importance of the lower-alcohol category and investing far too much time in developing new products, according to Morrisons head of wine.

Morrisons bottles wines in the UK for the first time through Accolade Wines

Morrisons is to use Accolade Wines' bottling facility in Bristol as it looks to pack in the UK for the first time.

Morrisons wants to increase wine sales by £100m

Morrisons claims it has a minimum extra £100 million in sales to be gained from the wine category alone if it maximises its full potential, according to Steve Mosey, trading director for beers, wines and spirits.

Morrisons Cellar is performing ahead of 'expectations' in first year of sales

Morrisons Cellar, the retailer's first online grocery offer, has surpassed the retailers' expectations in its first year of operation.

Morrisons appoints wine sourcing manager

Morrisons has appointed former Waitrose wine buyer Katie Mollet to the role of wine sourcing manager.

Jenny Mackenzie reports from the first Morrisons Cellar wine showase

Morrisons Cellar's first wine showcase to the press was on its Taste Test theme. The venue space in Marylebone was decorated like an interiors stand at a lifestyle event, with four open-plan, "room set" layouts and the wines grouped in the Taste Test flavour profiles of Sweet, Fresh, Smooth and Intense.

Broadlands Wineries to 'undercut' wine agencies

Broadland Wineries claims it can get new wines to market, from inception to shelf, a month earlier than its competitors.

Gallo launches 5.5% abv Summer White

California giant Gallo has become the latest winery to move into the lower-alcohol market with launch of 5.5% abv Summer White.