Analysis: Are organic and biodynamic wines going mainstream?

Following the positive response over the past two days at the fifth annual Real Wine Fair, Doug Wregg, co-organiser of the event, confidently believes that natural and biodynamic wines are no longer niche products but are increasingly becoming more mainstream.

M&S doubles its range of English wines ahead of English Wine Week

High street stalwart Marks & Spencer will have 20 new English wines on its shelves in time for English Wine Week, boosting its range to a total of 37 wines from 14 counties.

Insights: 'We are at a crossroads' in the UK wine trade, says Fontannaz

Across the supply chain the UK wine trade has been under tremendous pressure, according to Bernard Fontannaz, founder of Origin Wine, and it has got to stop focusing so heavily on price and start communicating better with consumers.

Waitrose adds 12 new English Sparkling wines to range

Waitrose has announced its decision to expand its current range of English and Welsh wine by a quarter.

Benevolent appoints four new trustees to help further engagement with the UK trade

The Benevolent has appointed Diana Hunter of Conviviality Plc, Guy Lawrence of Mast-Jägermeister UK, Rita Greenwood of Wiliam Grant & Sons UK and Simon Difford of Difford's Guide to help further the Drinks Industry Charity to engage with trade.

Q&A: Tim Mondavi, partner, Continuum Estate, Napa Valley

The Mondavi family has a deeply rooted history in the Napa Valley and when they had to sell the publicly controlled business to Constellation Brands in 2004, decided to take some time out to launch Continuum Estate.

Chapel Down's Curious Drinks gains hundreds of new stakeholders and £1.7m investment

Curious Drinks, Chapel Down's wholly owned subsidiary beer and cider business Curious Drinks, has welcomed nearly 900 new stakeholders after raising over £1.7m in a crowdfunding initiative.

Litmus Wines creates subsidary agency Litmus Wine Agency

Ridgeview wins five at Texsom as export volumes double

English sparkling wine producer, Ridgeview Wine Estate Ridgeview won  medals for all five of its wines entered into the 2016 Texsom International Wine Awards in the US last week.

Budget 2016: Duty on beer, cider and spirits frozen; wine duty to rise

Today the Chancellor George Osborne froze the duty on beer, cider and whisky, but wine will see duty rise at the same rate of inflation as part of Budget 2016.

Prowein 2016: "English sparkling wine ready to take on Champagne" says Hambledon's Ian Kellett

English sparkling wine producers are on bullish form with a strong presence at ProWein reflecting a confidence in an industry that is looking to grow its production and exports significantly over the next couple of decades.

UK sales of sparkling wines hit £1 billion for first time

Sales of sparking wines in the UK - excluding Champagne - hit £1 billion for the first time in 2015, according to figures released today by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

English sparkling wine's southern charm

Recent research conducted by Harpers into the sparkling wine listings of around 50 mid to high-end restaurants in south east England and London threw up some interesting insights into the mix of fizzes offered both by the bottle and being served by the glass. 

Casillero del Diablo drives Concha y Toro to new heights

Strong Christmas sales for its flagship Casillero del Diablo brand ended a successful 2015 for Concha y Toro, the company has announced.

2015 year in review and hopes and fears for 2016: Miles Beale, WSTA

Miles Beale chief executive officer of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, celebrated the 'best budget outcome for almost 20 years' in 2015.  Looking ahead, Beale is gearing up to to make the case for a 2% duty cut and fairer treatment for wine in 2016.

ALERT: Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme in Force from 1 January 2016

From the 1 January 2016 HMRC will introduce the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) to tackle alcohol fraud. Cindy Dorrington of Bivonas Law asseses the implication for the trade. 

English wine producer Hambledon Vineyard announces expansion plans

Hambledon Vineyard has announced plans to to increase the estates's production facilities in response to growing demand of its award-winning English sparkling wine.

2015 year in review and hopes and fears for 2016: David Cox, The Benevolent

David Cox, the chief executive of The Benevolent, the drinks charity in the UK, is proud that in 2015 the charity was able to assist 570 beneficiaries.  For the trade, he saw 2015 as a challenging year where businesses need to work harder than ever to protect margins.  In 2016 he most looking forward to continuing to grow the number of companies that are engaged with charity.

2015 year in review and hopes and fears for 2016: Julia Trustram Eve, English Wine Producers

In the first of our annual reviews of the year, we asked Julia Trustram Eve, the marketing director for English Wine Producers, what were some highlights of 2015 and what she thinks lies ahead for the industry. For Trustman Eve, 2015 was a busy year where English wines became increasingly more mainstream.  Looking ahead she see the Budget as one of the industries biggest challenges in 2016, but a lot of opportunity as well with the International Cool Climate Symposium being hosted in the UK.

New Gadget: iSommelier- the oxygenation decanting device

Decanting may soon become an act of minutes rather than hours and be controlled by an app on your phone.