Rioja a double-edged sword for premium brands

As one of the primary regions in the world's third largest wine producing country, the Rioja label carries a huge amount of weight in the on and off-trade worldwide - and especially in the UK, where its easy-to-drink reputation has made it a stalwart on British supermarkets shelves.

Constellation could become more reliant on beer following reports of plans to float Canadian wine division

A shake-up up of Constellation Brands Inc's portfolio could be on the cards as plans emerge for an initial public offering of its Canadian wine business later this year.

Burgundy negociants plan Pinot Noir takeover with Languedoc winery

Badet Clement, the winemakers behind Les Jamelles, have unveiled a multimillion-euro winery in the Languedoc - part of a strategy to improve the quality of the region by importing Burgundy "philosophy".

Q&A: Andrew Lundy, managing director, Vino

Rising from the ashes of Wine Rack after it went into administration in 2009, Edinburgh-based independent merchant Vino has garnered a reputation for a no-nonsense, fresh and fun approach to wine selling.

Regulation changed shoppers buying habits in Scotland, says independent merchant

As with university fees and other devolved powers concerning health and education, Scotland has its own rules regulation when it comes to the drinks industry.

ICCWS: Millennials have a thirst for cool climate wines

As climate change pushes viticulture further and further towards the poles, a similar shift is happening to the type of wine consumer and the types of wines they are consuming.

Champagne de Castelnau celebrates centenary with new launch

Champagne de Castelnau is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year with the launch of its first prestige cuvée

Can wine learn from gin's Meet the Maker approach?

The team behind next week's Junipalooza gin extravaganza is demanding that the producers and distillers physically attend the fair - otherwise they're not coming in.

Taittinger gastronomy competition reaches the big 50

Champagne Taittinger is celebrating the 50th anniversary of their renowned Taittinger Prix Culinaire International.

ICCWS: New technological trends impacting wine marketing

Bottlebooks' Jonathan Harclerode joined a panel of e-business wine experts at the ICCWS last week to discuss how to make collecting and sharing wine data more efficient.

"Watertight paper trail" only way to ensure provenance at auction

A UK auctioneer is stressing the importance of having watertight paperwork to prevent wine fraud following speculation that top Burgundy lots offered by a Swiss auction house were counterfeit.

ICCWS moving to Canada after UK event

Canada has been announced as the successor to England as the next host of the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium.

Promotion for UK indies to drive Provence rosé growth

Vins de Provence is launching a necktag promotion to support sales and drive awareness of Provence rosé wines in UK indies.

Sales of English wine up 13% at Waitrose

Sales at Waitrose show that UK consumers are continuing to invest in home-grown wines, with sales increasingly year-by-year.

Size doesn't matter, says co-founder of new multi-million pound "mega" distillery

The co-founder of Portobello Road Gin has revealed that building a 'super-distillery' was never the intention behind plans to build a four-storey gin destination in the heart of Notting Hill.

Importer profile: Red Squirrel

Since 2012, London-based importer Red Squirrel has been focusing on "squirrelling" out new and rare wines to bring to the UK market.

Top ten tweets from National Wine Day

Whiskey, rum and vodka triumph against the odds to beat gin in consumer poll

Vodka, whiskey and rum have dominated a campaign to find the nation's favourite craft spirits - despite gin making up 80% of the entries.

The Week That Was: Top news, Q&As and analysis on Harpers.co.uk

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, financial news for the drinks trade, Q&As, and opinion stories.

Q&A: Julio Sáenz, La Rioja Alta, S.A.

La Rioja Alta, S.A., has been making wine since it was founded by five families back in 1890. We chatted to Julio Sáenz, winemaker at the premium vineyard since 1996 and technical director since 2005, about how their wines and the winemaking have evolved.