Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

David Gleave MW champions the screwcap

Published: 23 March, 2009

Liberty Wines' managing director, David Gleave MW, has long championed the use of screwcaps as a preferred method of bottle closure. Here he explains why.

Bordeaux over a barrel

Published: 23 March, 2009

British importers are threatening to turn their backs on Bordeaux blue chip claret this year following the "biggest impasse on pricing" in living memory.

First English whisky

Published: 23 March, 2009

England will have its first whisky release in December of this year, Harpers Wine and Spirit can reveal.

Tastings - 24 March

Published: 23 March, 2009

Natasha Hughes selects her favourites from the SITT and Wines from Spain tastings.

Agony Aunt - Matthieu Longuere

Published: 23 March, 2009

'I am the second in charge of the wine list at a well-established restaurant, but I want to move up the career ladder and eventually find a restaurant where I can be head sommelier. What kind of training should I be looking to get at this stage in order to help me progress in my career? If there is no formal training I can do, what other steps should I take?'

Codorniu

Published: 13 March, 2009

Codorníu, producers of the UK's number one Spanish sparkling wine brand, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the inaugural International Sparkling Wine Symposium.

Codorniu

Published: 13 March, 2009

Codorníu, producers of the UK's number one Spanish sparkling wine brand, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the inaugural International Sparkling Wine Symposium.

Opinion: The Tate's Hamish Anderson on holding your ground in tough times

Published: 09 March, 2009

Hamish Anderson, head sommelier at the Tate, explains how to get your priorities right in challenging times.

Tastings

Published: 09 March, 2009

Natasha Hughes picks out some favourites from recent tastings.

Constellation launches loyalty scheme

Published: 09 March, 2009

Constellation Europe is launching a loyalty scheme for its on-trade exclusive wine brand Jack Rabbit.

Credit insurance crisis

Published: 09 March, 2009

Credit insurers are becoming more reluctant to grant cover to suppliers and businesses as the recession deepens, putting the drinks industry further at risk in 2009.

Crisis summit held for pubs

Published: 09 March, 2009

Some 2,000 British pubs have closed with the loss of 20,000 jobs in the past year, a crisis summit on the state of the industry has heard.

Profile: Le Champignon Sauvage's Helen Everitt-Matthias

Published: 09 March, 2009

Le Champignon Sauvage's Helen Everitt-Matthias tells how marrying a chef made a front-of-house career all but inevitable.

Agony Aunt: How to achieve the right tone when writing your wine list

Published: 09 March, 2009

We don't have a fully trained sommelier on site to explain wines to our diners. How can I make sure that our wine list is written in such a way that it encourages people who don't know much about wine to order with confidence without talking down to customers who do know a lot about wine?

Raymond Blanc wins dessert wine trophy

Published: 20 February, 2009

Raymond Blanc's two Michelin-starred Manoir aux Quat' Saisons has won the European final of the Roussillon Dessert Trophy 2009.

Profile - Dawn Davies

Published: 20 February, 2009

After stints at Zuma, Boxwood, The Square and the Ledbury, Dawn Davies has gone on to become head sommelier at Selfridges department store. She explains how working in retail has given her a whole new perspective on the world of wine.

Agony Aunt: What should I do if a customer knocks over a bottle of wine and demands it is replaced?

Published: 20 February, 2009

A customer knocked over a half-full bottle of wine the other day, then insisted I replace it with a full bottle. How should I have dealt with the problem?'

Tastings

Published: 20 February, 2009

Winetraders Portfolio Tasting, Hallgarten Druitt Annual Tasting, Maisons, Marques et Domaines Portfolio Tasting, Mentzendorff Portfolio Tasting, Australia Day Tastings and Pol Roger Portfolio Tasting.