Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

SAB Miller snaps up London craft brewery

Published: 15 May, 2015

Brewery giant SAB Miller has bought craft brewery the Meantime Brewing Company for an undisclosed sum.

Naked Wines Australian head appointed chief executive of UK and US businesses

Published: 14 May, 2015

Naked Wines has appointed the chief executive of its Australian business, Luke Jecks to head up its UK and US businesses.

Volume declines of Southern hemisphere harvest pushes up demand for bulk wines

Published: 14 May, 2015

Smaller harvest in the Southern hemisphere are set to boost demand for bulk wine, the latest report from Ciatti has said.

Domaines Paul Mas expansion in the Herault

Published: 14 May, 2015

Languedoc producer Domaine Paul Mas has added a ninth vineyard to his estate, Domaine Silène des Peyrals in Hérault and is already eyeing up a tenth estate in Corbière..

New date set for Harpers Awards 2015

Published: 14 May, 2015

The date and venue for this year's Harpers Awards has moved to Tuesday 29 September.

Morrisons revamps French wine range and Malbec

Published: 13 May, 2015

Morrisons has revamped its range of French wines and boosted its offering of Malbec, focussing on areas that where it says it has historically under-traded.

Asda cuts wine range by 8% but adds new range of lesser known varietals among 200 new lines

Published: 13 May, 2015

Asda has overhauled its entire wine range, cutting its total range by around 8% in order to rationalise the offer and accommodate more than 200 new products.

Justin Keay on Malta, an unknown wines region emerging from the shadow

Published: 12 May, 2015

When Georges Meekers, head of sales at Delicata, suggested we meet at the Winery on the Waterfront, I had tantalising visions of a new glass-fronted building amidst Valetta's bustling restaurants and bars. Boy, was I disappointed. Delicata, Malta's largest wine producer, isn't at that Waterfront - the one where you can sip local Gellewza rose and watch the cruise ships come in - but at an industrial one facing Valetta.

Cava needs to better communicate quality, trade body claims

Published: 12 May, 2015

Cava needs to better communicate its quality credentials, the head of the Cava trade body has claimed.

Greene King's takeover of Spirit Pub Co investigated by competition commission

Published: 12 May, 2015

The Competition commission is looking into Greene King's proposed takeover of The Spirit Pub Company.

Bumper 2014 harvest boosts English wine production by 42%

Published: 12 May, 2015

English Wine enjoyed a bumper harvest last year, which has helped push production by 42% to around 6.3m bottles.

Bordeaux 2014 en primeur: The verdict

Published: 12 May, 2015

There has been little incentive for consumers to buy Bordeaux en primeur in recent years. Can the chateaux turn that around? Our man on the ground, local winemaker Gavin Quinney, reviews the latest vintage:

Analysis: Are UK vineyards missing out on valuable tax benefits?

Published: 11 May, 2015

New proposals offering UK farmers tax benefits sounded like good news for the industry, but when the WSTA discovered that vineyards don't fall into that category, they demanded to know why.

Symington Family Estate release rare 2013 estate ports

Published: 11 May, 2015

Port family, Family Estates is releasing two limited edition rare vintage 2013 estate ports.

Yalumba launches marketing boost

Published: 11 May, 2015

Australia's oldest family vineyard, Yalumba, is launching a new marketing boost which will see it partner with local independent wine merchants to offer consumers the chance to attend pop up food events.

Convivality Retail reports "solid year" as revenues rise on back of investments

Published: 11 May, 2015

Conviviality Retail, the owners of Wine Rack and Bargain Booze, said it was on track for a 'solid' year following investment and expansion of the business.

Naked Wines eyes up growth following its partnership with Majestic

Published: 11 May, 2015

Naked Wine's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk to Harpers about the future of the new Naked Wines following its acquistion by Majestic.

Interview: Majestic's new boss Rowan Gormley and Naked's Eamon FitzGerald on the company's new era

Published: 11 May, 2015

Majestic's new chief executive Rowan Gormley and Naked's managing director Eamon FitzGerald talk about the future of the new company.

UK vineyards 'missing out' on tax benefits introduced in the Budget

Published: 11 May, 2015

UK vineyards are missing out on tax benefits that are available to farmers, market gardeners and hop growers, Harpers has learned.

General election: Stability good for the industry, WSTA claims

Published: 08 May, 2015

Following the political upheaval of the last 24 hours, the drinks industry has reacted to the news that David Cameron is returning to Number Ten with an increased majority.