Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Centre-Loire Wines appoints Sopexa for 2011 programme

Published: 17 February, 2011

Centre-Loire Wines (BIVC) has appointed Sopexa UK, to manage its 2011 UK public relations trade campaign.

Drake & Morgan launches fifth site

Published: 17 February, 2011

London bar group Drake & Morgan is launching its fifth site, The Drift, in the newly developed Heron Tower in Bishopsgate in early June.

Sterling drops after Tuesday's gains

Published: 17 February, 2011

Sterling dropped yesterday, eradicating gains after the Bank of England's Quarterly Inflation Report doused market expectations of interest rate hikes.

Virgin Wines to double its consumer tasting programme

Published: 16 February, 2011

Virgin Wines is to double its national consumer wine tasting programme for 2011 by visiting more UK cities.

Fake alcohol on the rise

Published: 16 February, 2011

Trading Standards have warned retailers to be extra vigilant after officers found a high level of counterfeit alcohol in off-licences.

UK Champagne consumption back to pre-recession levels

Published: 16 February, 2011

Champagne consumption in the UK is back to pre-recession levels, according to data from Wine Intelligence.

Bargain Booze ad cleared of being irresponsible

Published: 16 February, 2011

An advert offering students the chance to win a year's supply of drink from off-licence Bargain Booze in Crewe has been cleared of being irresponsible.

Sud de France announces 2011 programme

Published: 16 February, 2011

Sud de France Export (Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon) has announced its marketing and events programme for 2011.

Sterling strengthens due to inflation jump

Published: 16 February, 2011

Sterling strengthened against both the US dollar and euro yesterday following another jump in consumer price inflation in the UK.

Fosters demerger to go ahead in May

Published: 15 February, 2011

Foster's has announced it will pursue the demerger off its wine business from the core beer division and create two independent ASX listed companies.

First Gamay Symposium attracts 11 countries

Published: 15 February, 2011

The first Gamay Symposium, aimed at raising consumer and professional awareness of the grape, saw over 600 entries from 11 different countries and 167 medals won.

Harpers Champagne Summit gets underway

Published: 15 February, 2011

Harpers Wine & Spirit is holding its 2011 Champagne Summit today, which is aimed at educating and showcasing the best in Champagne to the UK's wine trade.

On-trade failing to claim back £1,000s in capital allowances

Published: 15 February, 2011

Bar and restaurant owners are failing to claim back thousands of pounds worth of capital allowances, says one tax claim firm.

Sterling holds firm ahead of data release

Published: 15 February, 2011

Sterling was firm yesterday ahead of a big day of data releases in both the UK and euro zone.

Bargain Booze may be for sale at £90m

Published: 14 February, 2011

The 640-store Bargain Booze chain may soon be on the market for £90 million, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

Analysis: wine merchants vs bloggers

Published: 14 February, 2011

The wine blogging community was up in arms last week over a report from Wine Intelligence, which said independent bloggers were one of the "least trusted sources of wine information". Harpers asked bloggers, merchants, online retailers, and Wine Intelligence for their views.

D&D to slash prices on top-end wines

Published: 14 February, 2011

Former Conran restaurants, D&D London, has announced a wine spending review that includes slashing the mark-ups on top-end bottles.

UK pub and restaurant sales up 10.7% in January

Published: 14 February, 2011

UK restaurant and pub groups performed well in January, with like-for-like sales up 10.7% on the same period last year, according to monthly sales monitoring report the Coffer Peach Business Tracker.

California producers: grape prices 'unsustainable'

Published: 14 February, 2011

Californian producers are facing a challenging year thanks to "unsustainable grape prices", according to Allied Grape Growers president.

Sterling falls due to lack of clarity over interest rates

Published: 14 February, 2011

Sterling fell against a stronger US dollar on Friday after investors sold sterling on a lack of clarity about interest rates from the Bank of England.