Waitrose recruits new drinks chief from Tesco

Pierpaolo Petrassi MW has left Tesco to head up the BWS department at Waitrose.

Global Brands launch new VK flavour

Global Brands Ltd, is investing £400k to launch a new fruit flavour for its RTD brand, VK.

Duncan Taylor awarded Liquid Golds

Draycott to head Gonzalez Byass sales

Former First Quench buyer Melissa Draycott has been named sales director of Gonzalez Byass UK.

Wine site launches with just 54 wines

A wine website offering only around 50 wines at a time has been launched to hopefully make the process of buying wine easier for the average drinker. 

Two licensees fined after substituting leading brands

Two licensees have been fined after routine Trading Standards inspections found them guilty of substituting leading spirits brands.

Gerard Basset wins World's Best Sommelier

Gerard Basset, owner and founder of the hotel TerraVina, Hampshire has been awarded the title of World's Best Sommelier.

Scotch exports hit new high

Scotch whisky producers achieved record exports in 2009 despite the global recession.

Brintex introduces blogging zone to LIWF

Brintex, organisers of the London International Wine Fair, will for the first time incorporate a dedicated bloggers' zone at this year's event.

New Zealand overtakes Germany in UK wine sales

New Zealand is claiming to have overtaken sales of German wine in the UK when looking at country of origin percentage shares.

Alfredo Vidaurre/Montes Winery Scholarship winner announced

A Bibendum Wine employee has won the third annual Alfredo Vidaurre/Montes Winery Scholarship.

Pusser's Rum awarded golds in USA and UK

Pusser's Rum, has won two world-beating awards in competitions held both in the USA and the UK.

Diageo plans £10m cooperage

Diageo is undertaking a £10 million project to build a new cooperage in Scotland.

Big Fortified Tasting opens in London

Over 300 fortified wines will be available to taste at next Monday's first Big Fortified Tasting.

Jack Daniels launches 2010 music marketing campaign

Jack Daniels is to join forces with top musicians who will perform iconic tracks at three JD Sets in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

Northern Hospitality Awards winners announced

Greens Restaurant & Bistro in Whitby, Yorkshire was named Best Restaurant of the Year in the Northern Hospitality Awards last night.

Angela Mount to head up Gondola Wines

Angela Mount is to be announced as the new head of Gondola Wine, the new online wine retail site from Dragon's Den entrepreneur Peter Jones.

Constellation renews Come Dine with Me sponsorship

Constellation Europe has announced its second year Hardys and Echo Falls sponsorship of the Channel 4 TV show, Come Dine With Me.

South Africa launches sustainability seal

The South African wine industry claims to have launched the world's first sustainability seal that guarantees eco-friendly production and bottle provenance.

Oddbins bounces back with double-digit rise in sales

Oddbins has released a strong set of first quarter figures which show double-digit retail sales growth over the last 10 weeks.