Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Bordeaux en primeur report 2020

Published: 17 June, 2021

Is 2020 another top Bordeaux vintage and what are the chances of a strong en primeur campaign after the success of the 2019s? Gavin Quinney, our man in Bordeaux, reports

US and EU lawmakers endorse elimination of wine tariffs and ‘zero for zero’

Published: 15 June, 2021

The Brussels-based CEEV (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins) and Wine Institute of California have applauded a strong show of support for Translantic wine trade.

Cava in the round

Published: 09 June, 2021

DO Cava has announced a series of educational webinars aimed at UK and US trade and communicators as part of its 2021 marketing campaign.

Long Read: A new script for wine writing

Published: 20 May, 2021

The Zoom option meant this year’s Symposium for Professional Wine Writers organised by Meadowood in Napa, California, attracted its largest number of attendees: 303. Typically about 24 have attended in person since the symposium launched in 2004.

LWF: Time to bottle it on glass?

Published: 19 May, 2021

As carbon emissions and the broader topic of sustainability climb back up the agenda, one of the more forward-looking sessions at London Wine Fair (LWF) 2021 cut to the heart of the issue.

Staffing For Success

Published: 22 April, 2021

For the second of our Building Back webinars in collaboration with Trade Hospitality App, Andrew Catchpole invited on-trade leaders to examine the growing issue of attracting and retaining talent.

International Sherry Week and Copa Jerez align for autumn celebration

Published: 20 April, 2021

International Sherry Week will this year coincide with the biannual food and wine focused Copa Jerez competition during November.

Bordeaux trading rises on US tariff suspension ahead of 2020 EP campaign

Published: 19 April, 2021

Market sentiment towards Bordeaux is “showing signs of recovery” as this year’s En Primeur campaign swings around, according to the Liv-ex members’ Bordeaux report released today.

Tim Atkin MW: Valuing our old vines

Published: 06 April, 2021

Call it serendipity, call it fate, but there are times when events and conversations seem to align. You go for months without thinking about something and then it’s everywhere, filling your inbox and your brain. Spooky, possums, as Dame Edna Everage once put it.

Beaujolais exports to UK continue to rise

Published: 16 March, 2021

Exports of Beaujolais wines to the UK continued to rise in both value and volume last year.

Scotch whisky tariffs suspended

Published: 04 March, 2021

The US has lifted tariffs on Scotch whisky for four months as leaders enter into negotiations to put a long-term solution in place.

Cork’s march to ascendancy

Published: 25 February, 2021

Having removed much of the taint of TCA to cork’s reputation, the classic stopper continues to establish itself as a benchmark of quality, as James Lawrence reports.

Penfolds’ first Cali wine twenty years in the making alongside TWE restructure

Published: 17 February, 2021

Penfolds has released its first ever Californian wine – a move that forms part of a major restructure of parent company Treasury Wine Estates’ (TWE) operating model which aims to rebalance its US operations and focus on new Penfolds launches outside of Australia.

Long read: It’s time for a France re-think

Published: 04 February, 2021

Rowena Curlewis, CEO of drinks design specialist Denomination, tells us why she thinks French wine brands could afford to up the ‘badass’ design stakes when marketing overseas.

Jerry Lockspeiser: The wine and book markets are eerily similar

Published: 02 February, 2021

What can wine learn from other sectors of the economy? How do they add value to their products, communicate with consumers, achieve profitability?

BNIA: ‘US Sanctions will destroy Armagnac industry’

Published: 11 January, 2021

The Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l'Armagnac (BNIA) has described the latest announcement by the US for sanctions against French wines and spirits as “a real economic bomb” that will “destroy Armagnac industry”.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Britain 2021 – Fear or opportunity?

Published: 17 December, 2020

As we come to the end of this extraordinary year and look towards the future, are we filled with feelings of fear or opportunity, or a strange mix of both?

‘Nouvelle generation’ to drive Beaujolais export potential

Published: 10 December, 2020

With good recent vintages to its name and wines that sit squarely with the modern trend towards fresher, lighter styles, Beaujolais certainly appears to be well placed to capture the attention of a new generation of drinkers. Add in ‘ownership’ of Gamay, a distinctive and easy-to-like variety, and the region also offers a sense of discovery (or re-discovery for older drinkers) in a world awash with international grapes.

UK to suspend US tariffs in hope of relief on Scotch exports post-Brexit

Published: 09 December, 2020

The UK is to suspend existing EU-imposed import tariffs on a slew of US products as Brexit transition comes to an end on 1 January, with the hope that a reciprocal move will see harsh US duties on Scotch lifted.

Fine wine reaches a record high on Liv-ex

Published: 09 December, 2020

Fine wine has remained buoyant this year, with increased reliance on technology and automated trading helping the market to reach as yet unprecedented levels.