Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Sustainability Report: Bottling it on glass

Published: 25 November, 2024

James Lawrence peers into the growing debate surrounding glass bottle usage in an environmentally challenged age.

Headline Heroes: Champagne’s sustainability revolution

Published: 13 November, 2024

Maison Perrier-Jouët is among key Champagne houses committed to introducing practices that will help meet climate objectives. James Lawrence reports.

EWGA Wines earns ISO 14001 accreditation for environmental practices

Published: 14 October, 2024

EWGA Wines, a Lancashire-based importer and wholesaler, has been awarded the ISO 14001 certification, marking its commitment to sustainability in the wine trade.

Catena Institute joins SWR Bottle Weight Accord

Published: 11 October, 2024

The Catena Institute of Wine has officially joined the SWR Bottle Weight Accord, reaffirming its sustainability commitment as a founding member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR). The institute’s efforts include light-weighting bottles and tackling the misconception that heavier bottles signify higher quality.

Greencroft Two wine bottling facility opens with focus on sustainability

Published: 04 October, 2024

Greencroft Two, a new £21m wine bottling plant, has opened in the UK, promising to raise the bar for sustainability in the industry. The 240,000 sq ft facility, now home to Greencroft Bottling, can handle up to 400 million litres of wine annually once fully operational.

Sustainability Report: Back to basics

Published: 03 June, 2024

With the number of schemes related to sustainable production many and varied, are we confusing consumers? James Lawrence reports.

Soapbox: The case for concentrate

Published: 11 April, 2024

Mark Lansley, CEO at Broadland Drinks, argues that concentrates can be good for carbon, cost and consumer choice and thus, ultimately, the wine trade.

Boutinot latest signatory to Harpers Sustainability Charter

Published: 22 January, 2024

Manchester-based Boutinot has become the latest company to sign up to Harpers Sustainability Charter.

Wine bulks up in value

Published: 20 December, 2023

Following the World Bulk Wine Exhibition in Amsterdam, James Bayley catches up with the OIV to get the global view.

Waitrose battles carbon

Published: 18 December, 2023

Waitrose has put emphasis on bulk wine shipping as an important factor in reducing its carbon footprint. James Bayley reports.

Exclusive: Encirc adds major new rail link for UK wine

Published: 25 October, 2023

Harpers can reveal that glass manufacturer and bottler, Encirc, has begun to make use of the railhead at Elton, Cheshire, as part of a major step towards creating an ‘ultra-sustainable’ intermodal transport network for glass in the UK.

Prowein 2023: The Harpers rundown

Published: 22 March, 2023

Innovation, sustainability, organic wine and the ‘immediacy’ of embracing alternative formats were common threads which ran throughout this year’s Prowein, as the event descended once more for a predictably rainy yet bustling three days in Düsseldorf.

Concha y Toro signs Harpers Sustainability Charter

Published: 09 November, 2022

Chile's leading wine brand has become a signatory to the Harpers Sustainability Charter, an initiative designed to galvanise the trade into action.

Alternative formats group publishes open letter to government

Published: 07 November, 2022

A group which advocates for the rapid use and adoption of alternative wine formats, has published an open letter from the industry to the government, calling for the introduction of consumer tax incentives for carbon-friendly alternative packaging.

Friday read: Why bulk is the hot ticket in the face of climate change

Published: 15 July, 2022

In a rapidly warming world the wine industry needs to modernise and that means embracing bulk, argues Richard Lloyd, general manager at The Park, Europe’s largest wine packaging facility.

Paper bottle makes its way to Laithwaites

Published: 04 July, 2022

Online wine merchant Laithwaites has launched its first wine packaged in a paper bottle – continuing a packaging trend which is rapidly gathering speed.

Friday read: Pancho Campo on the wine world and climate change

Published: 06 May, 2022

Ahead of the virtual Green Wine Future 2022 conference this May, Andrew Catchpole invited organiser Pancho Campo to explain how he became a driving force for climate action and why the globe’s environmental problems are also very much those of the wine trade.

New Zealand trumpets sustainable credentials for Earth Day

Published: 22 April, 2022

New Zealand Wine Growers (NZWG) has released its 2022 industry-wide Sustainability Report, charting its strong progress down a more sustainable path, reconfirming its aim to be an eco-leader among global wine-producing territories.

Rethinking glass

Published: 21 April, 2022

With glass recycling now definitively out of the deposit return scheme for England and Northern Ireland, the question of what to do with glass is back on the agenda. Could the future be reusable? Jo Gilbert reports.

Trade finds no easy solution in glass sustainability debate

Published: 21 April, 2022

For the near future, at least, the glass wine bottle is here to stay, albeit with a re-evaluation of how it is used, with consumer perception being a major hurdle to change.