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, financial news for the drinks trade, Q&As, and opinion stories.

One more day to register for Benevolent Fantasy Football League

The countdown to the start of the new English Premier League season is well and truly on. Which means there is only a day left to get your thinking caps on and enter the new Benevolent Fantasy Football League, have some fun, compete against friends (and soon to be foes) and raise some money for the drinks charity along the way.

Tom Conran to open a 12-month pop-up in Notting Hill

Bowmore and Glenmorangie both raise a dram to increased profits and sales

Morrison Bowmore Distillers, a subsidiary of Beam Suntory, and Glenmorangie Company, part of LVMH, both saw sales and profits grow last year, only further confirming the "hot" streak that whisky is currently having

EU and US sanctions unlikely to harm the Russian Vodka industry

Stowfords Press introduces new look to push premium cider image

Leading cider brand, Stowford Press, has gone through a re-design to push more its premium credentials and focus in on the the traditional cider press image on the label which it hopes will reinforce its heritage and provenance.

Echo Falls links up with British fashion designer for new limited edition range

Accolade Wines has introduced two new limited edition bottle designs for its leading Echo Falls wine brand that have been created by top British fashion designer, Holly Fulton.

'Tired' 3-litre bag-in-box wines in long term decline

Three-litre bag in box wines are in long term decline - they plummeted 14.6% in the last year - with consumers being put off by high prices.

Top Champagne brands buck decline as sales grow 9%

The top eight Champagne brands are bucking falling sales in the off-trade, as collective sales have grown by 9% in the last year.

Managed pubs and restaurants see 2.2% sales uplift in July

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Single serve wine glass Intrepid Fox taken over by angel investor

Single-serve tulip wine glass Intrepid Fox, brought to market by entrepreneur James Nash after appearing on Dragon's Den, is being relaunched after the company was bought out.

Timothy Taylor wins Best Beer in Britain award at Great British Beer Festival

Australian wine companies to gain better protection with joint agreement with Woolworths

Australian wine producers are set to gain better protection with the signing of the "Good Wine Buyer and Suppler Principles: A Code of Fairness and Transparency'' with Australia's biggest wine retailer Woolworths Liquor Group (WLG).

TED-style DisruptWine Talks to be central focus of the 2014 DWCC conference

A series of what are being billed as "DisruptWine Talks"  will be one of the key new features at this November's Digital Wine Communications Conference taking place in Montreux, Switzerland.

William Grant & Sons invests in new global whisky innovation role

William Grant & Sons has promoted Kevin Abrook to become the company's first global whisky specialist for innovation and will start his new role on September 1.

Bordeaux ramps up focus on younger consumers with white wines

The president of a Bordeaux wine body wants to open up younger UK wine consumers to the region's white wines.

Chile's wine production plummets by one quarter, say official figures

Chile's wine production has plummeted by almost one quarter compared to last year, but experts aren't expecting price rises as the country still has plenty of leftover wine in its tanks.

Matriarch and co-founder of Yellow Tail and Casella Family Brands dies

Maria Casella, the co-founder of Casella Family Brands and its flagship brand, Yellow Tail, died on August 10, 2014 in Brisbane, Australia.

Lidl's £12m France promotion sets tone for wine department

Lidl's upcoming £12 million Bordeaux-focused wine promotion is to set the tone for the retailer's future wine strategy.

Price wars and discounters hit overall retail sales

Retailer price wars coupled with the ongoing impact of the hard discounters saw overall UK retail sales slip back for the first time in two years, according to the latest British Retail Consortium /KPMG figures.