Published: 04 February, 2026
Rather like climate change and sustainability themselves, the recent fifth edition of Tasting Climate Change in Montreal was complex, dense with information, covering so much ground, from so many angles, that it was difficult to summarise into one simple thread. One prominent panellist – a journalist – even quipped “I’m having a heart attack just thinking about how I write all of this up”, given the viticultural, winemaking, packaging, distribution, retailing and post-consumption issues that were explored. Harpers will be covering some of those topics in this spring’s Sustainability Report, but as a taster (and mindful of that comment), one important aspect that was raised was that of consumer communication, from both trade and press.
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Published: 04 February, 2026
International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) has announced the launch of its inaugural soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration project compilation. The endeavour is a comprehensive comparative analysis of many of the wine industry’s SOC sequestration projects to date.
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Published: 15 January, 2026
The Prosecco DOC has unveiled its sales figures for 2025 with 667 million bottles sold globally – representing 1.1% growth year on year. The value of these sales stood at €3.6bn, approximately the same as 2024.
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Published: 14 January, 2026
Lleida-based winery Raimat has constructed the largest natural gravity-based water treatment plant in Europe, creating 40,000m2 of wetlands in the middle of its vineyards that can purify 80,000 litres of water per day.
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Published: 08 January, 2026
Leading Argentinian producer of organic wines Grupo Avinea has taken on Franck Noguiez (pictured) as its new technical director, a role in which he will guide wine production and sustainable development for the group.
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Published: 07 January, 2026
Leading Provençal producer Maison Saint Aix has appointed distributor Liberty Wines as its UK agent.
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Published: 05 January, 2026
Wine Paris organiser Vinexposium has revealed its list of nominees for the third edition of the V d’Or.
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Published: 22 December, 2025
Looking back, 2025 was another stinker of a year for the spirits and hospitality industries; a rollercoaster ride punctuated by a bad business environment, consumers having less disposable income, and venues closing their doors at an unprecedented rate. With that out the way, it’s time to look ahead to 2026 – as we thoroughly cheer the fact that 2025 is over and done with. So, with just a dash of optimism and foresight, what will be pouring into our glasses and being enjoyed in-venue next year? I have a few ideas.
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Published: 17 December, 2025
French family-owned wine producer JP Chenet has announced a redesign of its bottle for 2026, introducing a more modern visual identity for the brand with a focus on sustainability and practicality.
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Published: 08 December, 2025
Packaging waste matters and policy that can reduce it is vital. This would be a view held by most across the drinks trade. Despite this, implementation and policy design matter too. The introduction of extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy for some in the sector has been far from satisfactory. In many ways this comes down to a case of unfortunate timing – the policy’s introduction coinciding with a raft of other cost-increasing measures, namely alcohol duty and NIC hikes. But also, legitimate concerns exist regarding the policy’s minutiae.
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Published: 01 December, 2025
In a statement from Huw Irranca-Davies MS, the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, the Welsh Government has announced that it has begun the process of finding a Deposit Management Organisation (DMO) to run its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
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Published: 01 December, 2025
Members of the Harpers Sustainability Charter outline current and likely future challenges on the road to a greater green profile. Oliver Catchpole reports.
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Published: 24 November, 2025
For this month’s Sustainability Report, Harpers decided to ask the signatories of our Harpers Sustainability Charter about their progress in one of the key areas of sustainability – reducing carbon dioxide emissions. While only one pillar of a charter that encompasses incredibly important sustainability issues such as waste management, ecological care, diversity, public health and many others, carbon emissions stand out due to the outsized role they play in warming the planet.
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Published: 17 November, 2025
Resilience and transformation were the watchwords of the 10th edition of Cape Wine, which saw South Africa’s international showcase return to Cape Town for the first time since 2022. Three years is a long time in a wine country as ambitious and dynamic as South Africa. Packing its progress into three days is a challenge, yet the 2025 edition captured the exceptional diversity of the Cape – from bulk to super-premium, traditional method sparkling to brandy, and from cool-climate Grenache to icons like Vin de Constance. Superstars such as Eben Sadie poured alongside newcomers exhibiting for the first time.
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Published: 11 November, 2025
At this year’s Sustainability in Drinks (SID) conference, producers, suppliers, merchants and figures from across the wine trade came together to talk all things sustainability. Harpers was at the buzzy event at Christ Church Spitalfields, hearing from people at the cutting edge of sustainable wine. One clear theme that emerged was the importance of remaining accountable to one’s own environmental commitments. Certifications can be gained but also lost – developing approaches which can guarantee progress and prevent this from happening is vitally important for the industry. Harpers spoke to two inspiring figures to show how change can be safeguarded and enhanced, from above and below.
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Published: 20 October, 2025
Argentine winery Domaine Bousquet has announced a new distribution partnership with Enotria.
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Published: 15 October, 2025
At 1.2kg, the bottle on the table was heavy enough for it to be hard to tell how much wine was in it. But as chief winemaker Ana María Cumsille explained, the biggest market for Viña Carmen Gold, the Chilean producer’s top cuvée, was China, and consumers there “associate weight with quality”. A few weeks later I related this story to a manager at Ardagh glass in Barnsley as I toured their bottle factory. He joked: “We could get three out of one of those!” – and indeed the bottles coming off the production line in front of us weighed just 400g or less.
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Published: 09 October, 2025
Britain’s oldest fine wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR), has attained B Corp certification.
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Published: 01 October, 2025
Today (1 October) marks the commencement of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) levy. It also marks the deadline for which ‘large producers’ under the scheme must report their packaging data for the first half of 2025.
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Published: 01 October, 2025
The second edition of Sustainability in Drinks (SID) has been forced to change its venue, due to a burst water main in central Marylebone last week that flooded its proposed St Mary’s site.
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