New Zealand Winegrowers and WSET sign up for global partnership

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust has a new financial backer in the form of New Zealand Winegrowers, which has become one of the educator’s corporate patrons.

Tim Atkin MW: Canary in the global coalmine

“Phew. What A Scorcher!” I’m old enough to remember June 1976, when we had 15 consecutive days above 32°C. The Sun’s headline captured some of the excitement I felt as a teenager. In those days British summers were frequently cool, overcast affairs and all of a sudden Kent felt like the Costa Brava. What was scorching then seems almost temperate now. Last week Cambridge sweated through the second hottest day ever at 38.1°C, just behind Faversham’s UK record of 38.5°C in August 2003.

International spirits industry unites behind new global body

Many of the world’s leading spirits producers have partnered to create a new global organisation for the industry, it was announced in Geneva yesterday.

Alcohol sales fall worldwide, but with recovery to follow, predicts the IWSR

Global alcohol consumption fell back by 1.6% in 2018, according to new data from the IWSR, with some 27.6 billion nine-litre cases being consumed.

Côtes du Rhône targets 30-45 age group for new global campaign

The trade body for France’s Côtes du Rhône has unveiled plans to target consumers in their thirties and forties, with a new logo and marketing strapline that highlights the region’s quality, heritage and provenance.

China and the US drive boom in global premium wine consumption

Wine priced between $10 and $20 will be the biggest driver of value growth for still and sparkling wine over the next couple of years.

Missed opportunity: What a rise with inflation means for the UK wine trade

Pub landlords and spirits importers will be breathing a sigh of relief this morning, but not the nation’s wine trade – which is looking at an extra £90 million bill in duty next year.

Wine set to help global alcohol consumption to reach £830bn by 2022

A relatively sunny outlook is being forecast for the global alcohol industry over the next five years, with the wine set to see the largest portion of growth.

Global wine market grows value sales against static volume

E-commerce to represent 7.2% of FMCG retail by 2020

Retailers are being urged to adapt their strategies around the “evolution of channels” in light of research which showed that in 2017, 76% of fast-moving consumer goods’ (FMCG) value growth came from channels outside traditional supermarkets.

Gove pats Pernod Ricard on the back for green efforts

Pernod Ricard has had a pat on the back from UK environment secretary Michael Gove after 500 of its staff spent the day clearing rubbish from river banks and beaches across the UK.

Thinking outside the wine box on global shortages

Sourcing more cannily, focusing on quality and seeking out alternatives are just some of the outcomes that have resulted from increased supply and price pressures over the past few years. Re-evaluation was a key theme at the London Wine Fair Innovation Zone debate on May 22, as panellists discussed how best to meet changing consumer needs when global consumption patterns and global supply rarely see eye to eye.

Cannabis ‘the big green elephant in the room’ for drinks sector claims report

The global alcoholic drinks industry is facing a moment of reckoning as cannabis laws across the world continue to be relaxed. 

Sir George Fistonich steps down as Villa Maria CEO after 55 years

Top New Zealand winery Villa Maria has a new CEO.

UK to be overtaken by the US as the world’s bigger importer of sparkling

The UK’s status as the biggest importer of sparkling wines will be challenged over the next three years, with the US due to take the top spot by 2021.

Climate change: The greatest threat to humanity

Extreme weather has wreaked havoc on the winemaking world this year. Jo Gilbert traces these events back to the effects of climate change and the global impact of an increasingly CO2-laden planet