Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Harvest blog, Anne Krebiehl, Treiso, Piedmonte

Published: 19 October, 2010

Today is beautiful: After the first frost we have a clear day, bright sunshine and can see further than ever before, all the way to the snow-capped Alps.

Day Two Australian wine tour, Becky Leach

Published: 19 October, 2010

We arrived in Nagambie Lakes last night and went to historic Tahbilk for a sunset wetlands cruise. Drinking Tahbilk's refreshing riesling, taking in the scenery whilst on the lookout for kangaroos, it's not a bad way to spend an evening! Back at the winery this morning Alistair Purbrick took us round the estate before we adjourned to do some serious tasting.

Day one of Australian wine tour by Becky Leach

Published: 18 October, 2010

October 17 2010 will go down in history for two reasons. Reason one: Sister Mary MacKillan, daughter of Melbourne was cannonised; the first Australian female saint. Reason two: the James Busby Travel tour 2010, the inaugural trip began.

Paul Symington, Harvest Report for the Douro

Published: 18 October, 2010

After three very dry years, the winter of 2010 saw an extraordinary change and the Douro had an absolute deluge. There were days in the vineyards when all that could be heard from every quarter was the sound of running water. Being an area of mountain vineyards, this brought us considerable problems of erosion and fallen stone walls; it was a challenging and very expensive winter. At Bomfim we had 50% more rainfall from October to March 2010, 789 mm instead of the mean 524mm. This was a lot of additional water, but much needed.

Piemonte harvest blog by Anne Krebiehl

Published: 15 October, 2010

Oh to be back amongst the vines! This time they are Barbera and Nebbiolo vines in Treiso, the highest of the three villages that constitute the Barbaresco appellation. I am at Azienda Vitivinicola Pelissero and from the winery - the cantina - just outside the village one has an almost 360-degree-view of the glorious Langhe hills, clad in vines as far as the eye can see, with the odd poplar forest or hazel grove in between. This is, after all, also Nutella country - the Ferrero factory in Alba needs huge amounts of hazelnuts, as do the Torinesi confectioners for their famous gianduiotti.

Geoffrey Dean, blog, whisky and chocolate tasting

Published: 09 October, 2010

While wine and chocolate are conditional bedfellows, dependent on the varietals used in the former, whisky and chocolate are lifelong partners, unable to resist each other. They form a perfect union, especially if you combine the world-class products from Charbonnel et Walker, chocolatiers to the Royal Family, with aged whiskies from Balvenie, the outstanding Speyside producer.

Carol Emmas - The Disaronno Mixing Star competition

Published: 06 October, 2010

I've never watched the X-Factor, but I've seen clips and know how it gets under the skin of people once they've opted to watch the first one.

Richard Siddle, blog, Boutique wines

Published: 04 October, 2010

This week's Boutique Wineries tasting threw up an interesting conundrum. What actually is a boutique wine? And is it a term that the trade, never mind the consumer, relates to?

Anne Krebiehl unravels the Pinot puzzle

Published: 29 September, 2010

The best thing about Monday's Pinot Puzzle was that all wines were served blind, having everyone guessing and trying to find common threads in the different country flights. London's wine glitterati (yes, they all turned up) were debating the comparative alcoholic heat, the integration of oak and the use of different clones in a spectacular line-up of Pinot Noirs from Oregon, Chile, New Zealand and Australia. Were those balanced, almost tender and pale wines at home in the Willamette Valley? Was the heat and power of one flight down to Californian, Australian or Central Otago sunshine? Did acidity and fruit-forwardness really point to Chile or was it Mornington Peninsula? Almost all got some flights spot on but mixed up others - also scrutinising bottles for clues via closures and bottle weight. The 66 wines were presented in Hardy's Brasserie, a small enough space to encourage lively discussion.

Expectations high for Bordeaux's 2010 vintage

Published: 28 September, 2010

Geoffrey Dean writes for The Times and is currently studying for WSET exams.

Wine & chocolate blog

Published: 24 September, 2010

Wine and chocolate don't go together, right? Well, wrong actually. The view that the pair are not natural bedfellows has been well-subscribed over the years by many people, but an influential group of Bordelais are providing compelling evidence that the right chocolate and the right wine do indeed mix, and very nicely thank you.

Harpers Global Wine Report: the Old World by Laura Clark

Published: 21 September, 2010

Eastern Europe is making its mark on the global wine scene and has the potential to be a major player in the coming 12 months, according to predictions from leading trade figures.

Richard Siddle blog Sepbember

Published: 05 September, 2010

I am not normally one for taking the day job with me on holiday. The idea of a wine-based novel is a bit too close to home, but this year was different.

Tribute to David Slingsby-Smith

Published: 31 August, 2010

A tribute:
Always just Slingers - David Slingsby-Smith RIP.

Andrew Catchpole's final Regional Heroes blog from Australia

Published: 23 August, 2010

From the Hills to Clare Valley, where a cracking turn out of winemakers reinforces one of the best masterclass tastings of the trip, fronted by the region's lime-slaked, bone dry signature style of Riesling.

Day five of Andrew Catchpole's Regional Heroes blog from Australia

Published: 19 August, 2010

A mellow, cool climate experience in the Adelaide Hills kicked off early this morning with a rain-swept rendezvous with Penny Jones and Katie MacAulay of Petaluma on the summit of Mount Lofty. The idea had been to give us a sweeping overview of the varied topography of the Hills, including the rolling sub-regions of Lenswood and Piccadilly, but the positively British weather drove us to shelter at Bridgewater Mill where we had our first crack at unravelling the diversity of this boutique-scale if rambling region.

Day four of Andrew Catchpole's Regional Heroes blog from Australia

Published: 17 August, 2010

To South Australia, the undisputed 'engine room' of Australia's wine industry, producing 66% of the annual Australian crush and home to Barossa, its most famous region. In terms of regional identity, these legs of the Regional Heroes trip, taking in McClaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, Care Valley, Barossa and Eden Valley in quick succession, would perhaps be most instructive in terms of identifying both similarities and differences in Australia's best know regions.

Day three of Andrew Catchpole's Regional Heroes blog from Australia

Published: 16 August, 2010

An evening at Movida Acqui, the latest hot roll-out by Melbourne's phenomenally fashionable Iberian diner Movida, hosted by Yasmin Power, Victoria's head honcho for wines and beverages, with a cast of senior wine people, including Alister Purbrick of Tahbilk, Julian Castagna of Castagna, Fiona Thompson of Crawford River, Natalia Pizzini of Pizzini, Julie Mounsell from Toolangi, Ben Edwards, president of Sommeliers Australia and Dan Sims, super-charged sommelier and author of The Wine Guide.

Day two of Andrew Catchpole's Regional Heroes blog from Australia

Published: 13 August, 2010

What better way than to open the day than with a breakfast tasting of Riesling and Pinot Noir? The second Yarra morning finds us early at restaurant and cookery school Bella Vedere near Healesville where tussle-haired young gun Mac Forbes is pouring his wines in an appetite-inducing session that has gastric-juices flowing as bacon sizzles and kippers poach in the open kitchen.