UK wine buyers more cautious to try new ideas than in Europe says Origin's Bernard Fontannaz

It is easier to convince retail buyers in Europe to take on new wine ideas and designs than it is in the UK, according to Bernard Fontannaz, founder of Origin Wines.

The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion 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, Q&As, and opinion stories.

Alain Ducasse sommelier wins first Wines of Portugal Wine Quest competition

Dorian Guillon, assistant head sommelier at Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, has won the inaugural Wines of Portugal Wine Quest 2014 competition set up to help spread the word about Portuguese wine amongst UK's leading sommeliers.

Keep those dreams alive with Harpers World Cup Memories

England may be out of the World Cup but there is still plenty to enjoy from the 2014 Brazil World Cup. Here we start a new series of World Cup Memories where we ask people across the trade to share their best memories from World Cups down the line. If you would like to take part then simply email richard.siddle@wrbm.com with your answers to the questions below.

Glenfiddich rolls out £2m global ad campaign to push its family roots

Glenfiddich is to spend £2 million on a new global advertising campaign focused on celebrating and promoting its 126 years of family-owned independence.

Share your views on London Wine Fair 2014 with us

London Wine Fair's return to Kensington Olympia got an overwhelming thumbs up from the wine trade, with visitor numbers up 11% on last year, but we're looking for the lowdown.

New £4m Cotswolds distillery prepares to kick off whiskey production

Fine wine investors looking to pawn collections, says high end dealer

A high end London pawnbroker says wealthy clients are increasingly looking to pawn their fine wine collections to access cash, and that for him, fine wine is the top-performing luxury asset.

Valentino Monticello, sommelier and acclaimed artist, has died

Provence's Ventoux is 'about more than entry-level co-op table wines', says winemaker

Provence's Ventoux region has more to offer than entry-level co-operative grown table wines, and quality rivals its Côtes du Rhône neighbours, claims a winemaker from the region.

Chilean winemakers see overall production down 15-20%

Chilean winemakers are suffering losses of up to 15% on their red wine volumes caused by vine damage, coming after frost decimated white grapes by up to 55%. Mario Pablo Silva, managing director of Chile's Casa Silva winery, said the frost had two different impacts - decimating white grapes and damaging vines in longer term leading to lower volumes of red grapes. 

Penfolds to push back Bin, Icon and Luxury wines to one combined release in October

BrewDog opens Florence bar

Scotland's most infamous brewers' BrewDog are set to open their latest craft beer bar - this time in Florence - later this month.

Sherry gains popularity in the US with younger drinkers

Treasury changes Penfolds release dates as it writes down AU$260m

Treasury Wine Estates says 2015 will be a "reset year" as it writes down AU$260 million for 2014 and prepares to consolidate Penfolds' release dates to October to better manage allocations.

Wine travel website Winerist gears up for rapid growth

Wine and food travel website Winerist is aiming to boost the number of experiences it offers from 600 to 5,000 within the next six months, according to the firm's co-founder.

Burgundy needs two strong harvests to ease stocks and prices

Burgundy needs two strong harvests to get stocks back on track and stabilise prices, says Will Oatley, managing director of Louis Latour Agencies.

Felix Solis claims it can be "category captain" for Spain for multiple retailers

Felix Solis is in the position to act as "category captain" for Spain for any of the major UK retailers, according to Félix Solís Ramos, the group's export and marketing manager. 

French winemakers worry .wine domain names will confuse consumers

Ex Codorníu boss Nick Mantella moves to United Wineries

Nick Mantella, former Codorníu boss, has taken a new role as business development director at United Wineries.