Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Moving tribute to Gerard Basset crowns IWC Awards gala

Published: 10 July, 2019

The great and the good of the wine trade were out in full force last night to celebrate what turned out to be a memorable and also poignant IWC awards evening – thanks largely to a message from the late, great Gerard Basset, who was filmed accepting his lifetime achievement award at the end of the last year.

Albourne Estate bottles excess grapes for new frizzante

Published: 29 April, 2019

A Sussex estate has chosen to bottle its leftover grapes as an Italian-style fizz after last year’s super harvest meant producers were left with grapes still hanging on the vine.

Bibendum counteracts the “vanilla” effect of the Conviviality machine

Published: 13 March, 2019

Bibendum PLB is back on top form after veering away from Conviviality’s “one-size fits all approach”, according to one of its top bosses.

Veeno bought back from the brink with buyout

Published: 07 March, 2019

Veeno has been saved by investors who have rescued the Italian wine café’s 15-strong estate.

Carluccio’s boss calls out casual dining operators for aggressive expansion plans

Published: 04 March, 2019

Carluccio’s CEO has criticised the UK restaurant sector for focusing on “capex-heavy investments” – the same focus which almost brought the chain to brink of collapse last year.

Google searches for Dry January up 35% on last year as Gen Z knuckles down with no and low

Published: 31 January, 2019

Low and no alcohol serves can no longer be seen as “the poor cousin at the back of the bar” a number of industry experts agreed when faced with the question of what to do about the most teetotal generation in living memory.

Olivier Dauga encourages French producers to adopt sustainable and organic practices

Published: 17 July, 2018

French wine consultant Olivier Dauga was in town last night to present a number of new conversion projects with wine producers in Bordeaux, South and South West France, which focus on organic conversion and sustainability.

British wine and gin under the spotlight ahead of Saturday's match

Published: 06 July, 2018

Ever wondered how much wine and spirits the UK exports to Sweden?

Provence rosé faces supply slump

Published: 11 May, 2018

The sweltering bank holiday temperatures, higher than average winter sales and poor French harvests could mean a “potential draught” for rosé wines from Provence, according to Majestic.

Champagne exports catch up with French domestic consumption as value grows

Published: 22 February, 2018

Shipments of Champagne abroad caught up with domestic sales last year, new figures from the Champagne Bureau UK show.

Sparkling sales continue to fizz in the UK

Published: 14 February, 2018

Sales of sparkling grew by 6% in volume and 9% in value in the off-trade last year, showing the popularity of the category continues to rise.

Louis Roederer shows its modern face at MMD tasting

Published: 29 January, 2018

Things sometimes move at a glacial pace in the world of fine wine, but even Grande Marque producer Louis Roederer showed it is up for moving with the times at its most recent tasting, showcasing zero dosage and experimentation with organic and biodynamic wines.