James Lawrence tries to keep up with France's whirlwind wine producer Jean-Claude Mas

Jean-Claude Mas works at a pace that would put any Olympic athlete to shame. Since acquiring his eighth estate, Domaine La Ferrandiere in February 2014, Mas has negotiated the purchase of land on a Venetian island, overseen a new tourism project, released a new range of wines and finally decided to get into bed with French supermarkets. Oh, and he still finds time to see his family, "occasionally" he admits, with a wry smile.

How a 'yes' vote from Scotland would affect alcohol taxes and logistics

Excise duty expert Alan Powell considers how Scottish independence could affect drinks firms operating both sides of the borders in terms of excise duty and logistics.

Jayke Mangion on the story behind setting up a restaurant in an old Clapham public toilet

Douglas Blyde takes a trip back in time with Luxardo and Maraschino liqueurs

In honour of today's British visitors, the Union Jack is draped alongside the bandiera d'Italia at Luxardo's distillery near Padua. But both are motionless given the lack of breeze.

Andrew Weeber Gusbourne looks back at ten years of growth at his English winery

Andrew Weeber Gusbourne, chairman of Gusbourne plc, talks to Anne Krebiehl at the celebration of the estate's tenth anniversary. He remembers the past decade and looks ahead, always with his motto in mind: "There's always room at the top." Congratulations and happy 10^th birthday, Gusbourne!

Geoffrey Dean is blown away by beauty and quality of Switzerland's Lavaux wine region

When Patrick Fonjallaz's grandfather bought a 32,000-litre foudre at the Geneva Exposition of 1897, he got home to find it was too big to fit into his cellar on the northern shore of Lake Geneva. So he built another one, where the magnificently ornate foudre is still housed. It is not used for wine maturation any more, but stands sentinel-like in the winery, a reminder of the canton of Vaud's distinguished winemaking history.

Croatian billionaire Ernest Tolj shares his winemaking adventure

Croatian electrical cabling billionaire Ernest Tolj owns Saints Hills winery in Dalmatia. He tells us about Croation wine, the country's history, the potential for the wine industry and working with Michel Rolland. 

Anna Thorburn of Domaine l'Ancienne Ecole on leaving law to make wine in the Côtes du Rhône

Anna Thorburn talks with harpers.co.uk about embarking on every winelover's dream- chucking it all to move to France and starting a winery.  She imparts her experience and the lessons learned about the joys and hard work it takes to make such a dream a reality.

Laura Thomas on why the wine trade can't ignore the sugar debate

Following recent government advice to halve your sugar intake, we catch up with health coach Laura Thomas, to find out why the wine industry should sit up and take note.

Imogen Taylor on "exciting" white South African wines and making it as a young sommelier

Douglas Blyde talks to the 22 year-old sommelier of Greyhound at The Test in Stockbridge who says it was not her father of Stone Vine & Sun fame that inspired her to take up a career in wine, but getting her hands dirty out in wineries around the world instead.

Andy Palmer on why big brands have forgotten advertising is about "selling"

There is a prevailing school of thought in the advertising business that to change consumer behaviour you first need to change consumer attitudes [and by consumer behaviour we mean getting people to buy stuff].

Book review: Jerry Lockspeiser on DO PURPOSE: Why brands with a purpose do better and matter more

In the new Uncorked Book Club area on Harpers.co.uk books, featuring new and interesting titles for the trade, Jerry Lockspeiser discusses why this David Hieatt book on brands got so far into his head that it is still there days later...

John Williams at Frog's Leap on the changing face of Californian winemaking

Reflecting on the recent period of uncertainty for this year's vintage in Napa Valley as a result of drought conditions in California, Katherine Canfield catches up with Frog's Leap winemaker, John Williams, in Rutherford to discuss how approaches to winemaking in the region are changing.

Anna Greenhous assesses Bibendum's new sake range

Hot on the heels of Bibendum's launch of its new premium sake range, Anna Greenhous talks about the new range, the potential for pairing with non-Japanese food and the possibilities of the rice-based beverage as part of a wider cocktail offering.

Helen Savage on how winemakers are turning to music to protect their vines

If music be the solution to frost damage, mildew, water stress and especially esca, play on...

Chiefs of the week: Guy Woodward

Let's raise a glass to our new regular columnist Guy Woodward who is now entertaining Harpers readers with his insightful, cutting and controversial views. 

Tim Atkin on Moore, Banks and Batty in his World Cup memories

The World Cup final is only two days to go and who better to get you in the mood than wine critic, broadcaster and more importantly Tottenham Hotspur fan (we think!), Tim Atkin MW. Here are his World Cup memories:

Henry Ashworth, the Portman Group: our industry's commitment to the Responsibility Deal

Here we publish the comment piece from Henry Ashworth, chief executive, of the Portman Group, on his reaction to this week's government announcement on the Responsbility Deal and the drinks industry's response to the new commitments laid down in the deal.

Frédérique Dutheillet de Lamothe on why Cru Bourgeois is a wine brand in its own right

The French Appellation Contrôlée system is famously based on guaranteeing the geographical origin of a wine, rather than focusing on the quality of what is actually in the bottle - something that causes a headache for those who are trying to sell French wine and the consumers who wonder what the difference is between a bottle of Bordeaux at £4 and one at £24.

The Wine Chambers: bringing quality wine to the north east

Ben Chambers, owner of The Wine Chambers stores in Tynemouth and North Shields, talks about the difficulty of buying quality wine in the north east, the superiority of bottled-at-source wine and what keeps customers returning.