Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

French wine tasting

Published: 23 July, 2008

The French Wines campaign is holding a trade tasting of French wines retailing at 8 and over at Vinopolis, London.

Western and DGB end distribution agreement

Published: 23 July, 2008

Western Wines will no longer handle the distribution of the Bellingham and Douglas Green South African brands, following DGB's decision to open a UK office to handle distribution and marketing for these brands.

New Chief Executive for the Wine & Spirit Trade Association

Published: 23 July, 2008

Jeremy Beadles has been appointed to succeed Quentin Rappoport as Chief Executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association starting on 1st January 2006.

William Grant acquires Three Barrels brandy

Published: 23 July, 2008

William Grant & Sons has snapped up the French brandy company Raynal & Cie, thus adding the Three Barrels and Raynal brands to its portfolio.

XO Cognac grows up

Published: 23 July, 2008

After many years of deliberation, a ruling has just been passed that the youngest eau de vie in a bottle of XO Cognac must be at least 10 years old, some four years older than the current minimum age, reports Stuart Peskett.

Orr to head Quintessentially Wine

Published: 23 July, 2008

Wine writer and former Virgin Wine merchandising director Chris Orr, is to head up a new wine service for Quintessentially, the 24-hour virtual concierge service favoured by the Sloane set'.

Wine Intelligence announces first annual Leading Thinkers' Seminar

Published: 23 July, 2008

Wine Intelligence, the leading research organisation specifically for the wine sector, is launching its first Leading Thinkers' Seminar, which will take place on Thursday 24 November at the Great Eastern Hotel in London.

I'll be Des this Christmas

Published: 23 July, 2008

Responsible drinking campaigner The Portman Group is relaunching its non-drinking designated driver campaign, I'll be Des', to remind drivers of the dangers of drinking and driving in the run-up to the festive season.

CIVB join the WSET

Published: 23 July, 2008

The generic body for Bordeaux wines, the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), has joined
the ranks of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust's (WSET) Corporate Patrons.

Italian grape prices collapse

Published: 23 July, 2008

Perhaps the most unifying factor in the Italian wine scene at present is the fall in grape prices, which seems to be happening from north to south and east to west.

Decanter launches Asian edition

Published: 23 July, 2008

Consumer wine magazine Decanter is to launch a dedicated Far East edition next month - the first western wine magazine to do so.

Tuscan wine scandal

Published: 23 July, 2008

Two men are under arrest and 13 people are under investigation by Italy's Guardia di Finanza (fiscal police), together with police of the fraud squad called out by Siena's district attorney in yet another alleged sofisticazione (wine adulteration) involving fake Tuscan classics.

Siegel bought by Australian

Published: 23 July, 2008

Siegel Wine Agencies - best known for its range of premium German producers, such as Hermann Donnhoff - has been bought by New World specialist, Australian Wineries, for an undisclosed sum.

Tough' UK hits Constellation

Published: 23 July, 2008

On the back of the departure of a large part of Constellation Europe's senior executive team - chief executive Christopher Carson, marketing senior vice president, Graham Oak, and chief operating officer Richard Peters (with further cuts to
the marketing department rumoured to be in the air) - Constellation supremo Richard Sands has blamed tougher' trading conditions in the UK for only a modest rise in profits.

South Africa Supplement 2005

Published: 23 July, 2008

There's a reason why Harpers' 2005 South Africa supplement is resplendent in flowers. It's nothing to do with the Chelsea Flower Show or the Royal Horticultural Society, it's all about biodiversity in the Cape.

The South African wine industry is pioneering a project to conserve the Cape Floral Kingdom and, in doing so, it gives Wines of South Africa (WOSA), the country's generic body, a great consumer marketing campaign giftwrapped on, as it were, a platter.

Buzzed' is the new merry', says pub-crawl author

Published: 23 July, 2008

Police and drinks watchdogs need to take a new approach to their responsible-drinking campaigns, according to an author who has completed a 45,000-mile pub crawl to research his latest book.

Young bloods provide new Oxygene

Published: 23 July, 2008

A group of 18 young Bordelais - either chteau owners or their offspring - has set up a new association designed to breathe new life into Bordeaux's reputation abroad.

New commercial director for Matthew Clark

Published: 23 July, 2008

Ian Smith has been appointed as commercial director of Matthew Clark. This new role has been created to coordinate all sales, purchasing and marketing activities within Matthew Clark, following several years of rapid growth.

Bordeaux 2005: high hopes

Published: 23 July, 2008

Producers in Bordeaux are talking up the 2005 vintage like no other since the turn of the Millennium. And despite a well-known predilection to calling all but the most disastrous of years excellent', it appears that this year it may well be just that.