Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

SITT 2012: Wine suppliers make renewed investment in indies

Published: 25 September, 2012

Suppliers are making renewed investment into the indie sector, judging by yesterday's sell out day at SITT Autumn.

South Africa at forefront of environmental winemaking

Published: 25 September, 2012

South Africa is on track to be the world's leading wine country for its environmental, sustainable and ethical practices, according to Su Birch, chief executive of Wines of South Africa.

SITT 2012: Independent retailers 'lifeblood' of wine trade

Published: 24 September, 2012

Independents are the "lifeblood" of the wine trade and must be provided with bespoke, one-to-one services to ensure the sector's long-term growth.

Napa's Stag's Leap Winery switches to Berkmann

Published: 24 September, 2012

Iconic Californian winery Stag's Leap has switched its UK distribution from the Wine Treasury to Berkmann Wine Cellars.

Patrick Sandeman dies in skydiving accident

Published: 24 September, 2012

Leading wine merchant Patrick Sandeman has been killed in a freak skydiving accident in Cambridgeshire over the weekend.

Geoffrey Dean blogs from Errazuriz vertical icon wines tasting

Published: 24 September, 2012

While the Goring in London may have gained appeal for housing the Duchess of Cambridge on the eve of her wedding to Prince William, many in the wine trade were lured to it last week for an altogether different reason. Hatch Mansfield, UK distributor for Vina Errazuriz, used the hotel in Victoria to lay on a remarkable vertical tasting of the icon wines of one of Chile's most notable wineries.

Low yields characterise 2012 grape harvest

Published: 21 September, 2012

Lower yields are characterising the 2012 harvest around the globe, with producers from across Europe and South America stating crops are up to 15% smaller than usual.

£2.2m marketing campaign unveiled for Captain Morgan's Spiced

Published: 21 September, 2012

Diageo GB is investing £2.2 million in Captain Morgan's Spiced rum's biggest marketing campaign to date which will feature its first TV ad.

'Business as usual' for Stratford's under Kingsland ownership

Published: 21 September, 2012

FE Barber, which trades as Kingsland Wine & Spirits and Legacy Wines, has acquired Stratford's Wine Agencies out of administration and has underlined that it is "business as usual".

Stratford's Wine Agencies goes into administration

Published: 21 September, 2012

Stratford's Wine Agencies has entered administration, citing financial struggles caused by increasingly small margins and growing cash demands.

International Grenache Day celebrations kick off

Published: 21 September, 2012

Organisers of today's third annual International Grenache Day are hoping to better last year's event when more than 23,000 producers, wine merchants, restaurateurs and consumers from over 30 countries took part.

WineStars Twist selects Argentinian wineries

Published: 20 September, 2012

Eleven Argentinian wineries looking for UK distribution have been shortlisted in a competition to gain listings with independent and multiple retailers in the UK on and off-trade.

Bordeaux Index moves to state-of-the-art warehouse

Published: 20 September, 2012

Fine wine merchant Bordeaux Index is moving its entire stock to a new, state-of-the-art storage facility, signalling its intent to continue its expansion in the fine wine market.

Inter Oc to hold first London Pays d'Oc IGP trade tasting

Published: 20 September, 2012

Inter Oc, the Interprofessional body for Pays d'Oc IGP wines is holding its first London Pays d'Oc IGP trade and press tasting, in a bid to raise awareness of the quality of its wines.

Mike Matthews on Argentina's WineStars competition

Published: 20 September, 2012

Following on from the success of May's inaugural WineStars competition at the London International Wine Fair, competition founder Catherine Monahan brought her unique event - this time WineStars Twist - to Lord's for the Wines of Argentina tasting.

Wines from Spain Awards announces winning wines

Published: 19 September, 2012

Judging for the Wines from Spain Awards is now complete, with 110 winning wines chosen and 19 selected as 'champions' for their outstanding examples.

First South African wineries to show new ethical seal at Cape Wine

Published: 19 September, 2012

The first 26 wines to be receive the new, traceable ethical seal in South Africa will be on show at next week's Cape Wine trade exhibition in Cape Town.

FSA issues warning on Czech spirits

Published: 19 September, 2012

The Food Standards Agency is advising travellers to or from the Czech Republic to avoid drinking locally-produced hard spirits following a spate of alcohol-related deaths.

Drambuie enjoys sales growth in difficult conditions

Published: 18 September, 2012

Whisky liqueur company Drambuie has reported a 9% increase in operating profit for the full year, ending June 30. However, global sales volumes were flat due to the crisis in the Eurozone.