Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Analysis: Do you remember your wine epiphany?

Published: 05 June, 2015

Trade personalities tell Rosie Davenport and Nigel Huddleston about the life-changing moment when they realised a career in wine was their destiny

Harpers.co.uk survey results: Most overrated and underrated wine countries

Published: 13 May, 2015

Harpers.co.uk exclusive survey asked thetrade who they thought the most overrated and underrated wine regions were and the poll yielded some interesting results.

WSTA members angered by lack of support and other "freeloading" businesses in the trade

Published: 13 May, 2015

The WSTA has called for more drinks businesses to take up membership and support the trade organisation as some members that have been contributing to the body feel that other business in the trade are "freeloading."

Bordeaux 2014 en primeur: The verdict

Published: 12 May, 2015

There has been little incentive for consumers to buy Bordeaux en primeur in recent years. Can the chateaux turn that around? Our man on the ground, local winemaker Gavin Quinney, reviews the latest vintage:

Analysis: Are UK vineyards missing out on valuable tax benefits?

Published: 11 May, 2015

New proposals offering UK farmers tax benefits sounded like good news for the industry, but when the WSTA discovered that vineyards don't fall into that category, they demanded to know why.

Naked Wines eyes up growth following its partnership with Majestic

Published: 11 May, 2015

Naked Wine's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk to Harpers about the future of the new Naked Wines following its acquistion by Majestic.

Interview: Majestic's new boss Rowan Gormley and Naked's Eamon FitzGerald on the company's new era

Published: 11 May, 2015

Majestic's new chief executive Rowan Gormley and Naked's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk about the future of the new company.

Smith Report: Election 2015: trade impact

Published: 08 May, 2015

The 2015 General Election has been a close call right to the end. But are the potential impacts the results could have on the drinks trade?

Premium Spirits Round table: Defining premium spirits

Published: 14 April, 2015

Artisanal spirits may be all the rage, but, at a recently hosted roundtable, a panel of leading buyers and producers debated whether that meant they were premium.

Q&A: Damian Clarke of Freixenet's UK says his past work with FMCGs is helping to build stronger brands in wine trade

Published: 14 April, 2015

After a career spanning many leading grocery brands, Freixenet's UK boss Damian Clarke explains how his classic FMCG training is paying dividends in sparkling wine in the UK.

The Smith Report: Why social media participation for wine brands is increasingly more important

Published: 13 April, 2015

The ongoing battle for the return on investment from social media is about to get a bit more complicated with the Google and Twitter partnership.

Fortified wines see sales declining, but there are still opportunties for the category

Published: 10 April, 2015

Despite declining volumes, there are still ample opportunities for growth and innovation within the fortified wine category.

Riecine: Bringing a touch of Englishness to the Tuscan hills

Published: 10 April, 2015

The English have long beaten a path to the rolling hills of Tuscany for their holidays. Twenty-four years ago winemaker Sean O'Callaghan did just that - but he never left and has been making wines at Riecine winery ever since

Analysis: Majestic's acquisition of Naked Wines

Published: 10 April, 2015

Majestic Wines' acquisition of Naked Wines, and the appointment of Rowan Gormley as its new chief executive, will see the launch of a new international multi-channel wine retailing group.

Increased polarisation of Australian wine market widens gap between winners and losers

Published: 09 April, 2015

The Australian wine market is becoming increasingly polarised as many bulk grape producers and grape wine growers appear to be on the brink of collapse, while premium wine producers seem to be growing in both value and volume.

How California's pursuit of balance is now producing breakthrough wines

Published: 02 April, 2015

The 21^st century has seen a remarkable upsurge in the plantings of Pinot Noir throughout California, from a crush of 53,050 tons in 2000 to 248,469 in 2012. Concentrated on areas such as Sonoma, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Napa, and Mendocino, the upturn in the grape's fortunes has been matched by quality. The Sideways effect is much cited, but more important has been the discovery of sites, often near the coast, suited to this difficult grape variety and a different approach from the traditional Californian style of fruity, jammy Pinot.

En primeur risks "exodus" unless it rebalances, Vin-X boss warns

Published: 17 March, 2015

A fine wine investment expert has warned that the en primeur system risks seeing an exodus of châteaux from the system and negociants going to the wall, unless it gets its pricing "right".

Best of British: we celebrate Top Merchants around the country

Published: 10 March, 2015

In part two of our Best of British feature, Harpers takes a look at three more independent wine merchants to keep your eyes on.

ProWein Preview: The Brits are coming!

Published: 09 March, 2015

Downtown Düsseldorf will be the place to be this March as ProWein opens its doors to hordes of international buyers - with the Brits increasingly first in the queue. Here is what you can expect for arguably the largest drinks tradeshow in the world.

Country analysis: Californian wines hit the jackpot in the UK

Published: 08 March, 2015

It seems California wines have struck gold in the UK in recent years, as the value of US wine exports has exponentially grown within the global wine market, despite volumes staying relatively stable, writes Erin Smith