The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

In case you missed some of the headlines this week (and a bit of last week due to the long weekend) on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.

MPs get through £750k of wines, beers and spirits a year in House of Commons

MPs manage to get through £750,000 worth of alcohol a year whilst working at the House of Commons, according to media reports this week.

Comic Relief to stop investing in alcohol companies following independent review

Comic Relief has taken the decision to stop investing fundraising money in alcoholic drinks companies in a move that could lose the charity £1 million a year.

Buckingham Schenk adds Saint Emilion's Malet Roquefort to portfolio

Bibendum boosts Australian range with Rathbone Wine Group

Bibendum Wine has beefed up its Australian portfolio with the addition of three new Australian wineries  following a partnership with Rathbone Wine Group.

Generation Y confused by wine category

Young people aged 18 - 34 - the so-called Generation Y -  may consider themselves to be tech savvy and confident, but when it comes to choosing and buying wine they remain confused and intimidated by the category.

Bulk wine prices rocked by Chilean frosts, Californian droughts and a taste for French fruity wines

Frosts in Chile, droughts in California and the Languedoc and the boom in fruit-flavoured wines in France is having a knock-on effect on bulk wine prices, according to the latest data from Murphy Wine Company.

Heather Dougherty to be chairman of the Association of Wine Educators

Heather Dougherty has been appointed as the new chairman of the Association of Wine Educators.

Chris Porter's "Around the Grounds" challenge raises £30,000 for The Benevolent

Chris Porter, chairman of the Benevolent, hopes to have raised £30,000 for the drinks charity by successfully completing his "Around the Grounds" challenge to visit every one of the 91 football league grounds in the country across a two week period.

Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2014 expecting record breaking visitors

The eighth Vinexpo Asia-Pacific kicked off yesterday with 1,300 exhibitors - making it the largest exhibition of its kind in Asia, say organisers - who hope to welcome more than 17,000 visitors to the three-day show.

Berry Bros & Rudd revamps Basingstoke wine store

Wine and spirit merchant Berry Bros & Rudd has revamped its Basingstoke Warehouse shop which will officially open later this week.

Oddbins introduces TV talent show element to hunt for best amateur wine taster

High street wine retailer Oddbins is expecting a record turnout of 25,000 entrants for its third annual search for the UK's best amateur taster in The Palate competition.

The Co-operative boosts wine buying team with Gyles Walker

English Wine Week kicks off across the trade

English Wine Week kicked off over the bank holiday on Saturday and will be celebrating English Wine across the country all week long with several high street retailers, independent merchants and the on-trade promoting "locally" produced wines.

Premium New Zealand wine commerce site launches in UK

Top New Zealand wine expert Melanie Brown is launching an e-commerce site dedicated to over 160 premium New Zealand wines for the UK market.

Vente Privée to ramp up flash sales of top wines to UK market

Flash sales site vente-privee.com is looking to ramp up sales of prestigious wines as UK customers are flocking to the site in search of big-name bargains.

Mouton Cadet hopes to build brand awareness through international sponsorships

Mouton Cadet is building brand awareness through several high profile sponsorships this summer, including the Cannes Film Festival, BMW PGA Championship Tour and the Ryder Cup in order to gain market share in the UK on and off trade.

New Zealand winery Amisfield signs Inverarity Morton as UK agent

New Zealand winery Amisfield has returned to the UK market after a five-year absence and signed Scottish distributor Inverarity Morton as sole agent.

Jancis Robinson MW keynote speaker at digital wine conference

Top British wine expert Jancis Robinson MW will be keynote speaker at the seventh annual Digital Wine Communications Conference, which takes place in Switzerland later this year.

The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

In case you missed some of the headlines this week (and a bit of last week due to the long weekend) on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.