Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Vagabond’s new Brighton site will be second beyond London

Published: 11 August, 2026

This autumn, Vagabond Wines is set to open a new location in Brighton’s Duke Street, its second bar outside London.

Cult Wines: Selective wine market recovery takes hold

Published: 06 August, 2026

Fine wine ‘has stopped behaving as one market’, as it recovers from two years of decline, according to a new report from Cult Wines.

Majestic launches £4 million investment with Trowbridge store opening

Published: 30 July, 2026

Majestic has announced the opening of its newest location – situated in the Wiltshire town of Trowbridge – marking the beginning of a round of investment from the retailer worth £4 million.

Vintae completes acquisition of Bodegas Riojanas

Published: 22 July, 2026

Spanish wine group Vintae has announced its formal acquisition of Bodegas Riojanas, following a court-approved business restructuring plan.

Alliance Wine: Activequity secures majority shareholding, Tynan takes full executive control

Published: 08 July, 2026

Premium wine trade investment firm Activequity has become the majority shareholder of Scotland-based importer Alliance Wine. Management at Alliance retain a significant stake in the company.

Nick Gillett: A South American star – why we shouldn't sleep on pisco

Published: 06 July, 2026

I’m being asked about pisco a lot at the moment, and the question is almost always some version of: “what’s going on?” Demand is up, producers from Peru and Chile are putting real money behind UK pushes, and suddenly a spirit that’s quietly sat on cocktail menus for decades is being talked about like the latest hot, new tipple.

Liv-ex: Not all is lost after ‘tepid’ En Primeur campaign

Published: 30 June, 2026

Liv-ex has released its En Primeur 2025 closing report, detailing how, for the UK trade, this year’s so called “critical” campaign has been met with “tepid sales”.

Gap between whisky and wine investments narrowing, according to WineCap

Published: 29 June, 2026

Fine wine investment platform WineCap has released analysis suggesting that the gap in confidence between fine wine and whisky investments is narrowing, with enthusiasm for the latter increasing significantly since 2023.

Kingsland Drinks secures £65m funding deal

Published: 27 April, 2026

The Kingsland Drinks Group has finalised a £65m funding package from Barclays, with support from consultancy firm RSM UK, as it looks to accelerate growth under new leadership.

Strategic moves beyond sustainability

Published: 27 April, 2026

Climate change is an inescapable challenge for many industries, and probably none more so than that of wine, particularly in countries where water is scarce, temperatures fluctuate and weather conditions are unpredictable.

Wealth managers detail drastic rise in fine wine investment among clients

Published: 08 April, 2026

New analysis from fine wine trading platform WineCap’s 2026 Wealth Report, which surveys top UK wealth managers, reveals that high net worth (HNW) individuals are committing a far greater proportion of their portfolio to fine wine compared to last year.

Virgin Wines reports strong momentum into second half of the year

Published: 17 March, 2026

Leading online wine retailer Virgin Wines has announced that it is still on a positive track, with revenue for January and February up 12% year-on-year.

Virgin Wines sees strong Christmas trading period

Published: 27 January, 2026

Online wine retailer Virgin Wines has released its Christmas trading update, which shows a strong performance across the seven weeks to 26 December.

Plumpton College pledges £500,000 to support English wine industry

Published: 06 January, 2026

The UK’s longest established wine education provider, Plumpton College, has pledged £500,000 in fully funded training to support the English wine industry and mark its centenary year.

LWC funds over 500 customer WSET wine courses in 2025

Published: 22 December, 2025

Independent drinks distributor LWC has revealed that during 2025 it funded 526 trade customer WSET wine courses.

WineCap reveals best-performing Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne wines of 2025

Published: 22 December, 2025

Wine investment platform WineCap has rounded off the year by revealing the best performing wines from the three most important wine regions globally (in terms of demand) – Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne.

WineCap sketches shifting fortunes of Bordeaux and Burgundy

Published: 01 December, 2025

Ahead of its End of Year Report, wine investment platform WineCap has published a fascinating insight into the shifting alignment of fine wine investment rivals Bordeaux and Burgundy.

WineFi Q3 2025 wine market report suggests confidence on the rise

Published: 08 October, 2025

WineFi, the wine investment platform, has released its wine market report for Q3 of 2025.

Chef Angela Hartnett among fresh Sugrue South Downs investors

Published: 22 September, 2025

Sussex winery Sugrue South Downs has announced a new group of investors including well-loved chef Angela Hartnett (pictured, centre).

France reigns in Liv-ex classification 2025

Published: 15 September, 2025

Liv-ex has released its first classification since 2023. The initiative sees the fine wine trading platform “use price alone to determine a hierarchy of the leading labels in the secondary market”.