Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Snow storms hit producers and vines in central Italy

Published: 29 November, 2013

Up to 60cm of snow, which fell on Monday and Tuesday this week, have caused extensive damage to the vineyards in Abruzzo, central Italy.

Pernod Ricard switches more of its advertising budget to digital and social media

Published: 28 November, 2013

An increasing proportion of Pernod Ricard's UK advertising budget is being spent on social and digital media, as traditional media consumption continues to decline, according to managing director Denis O'Flynn.

English wines showcase new releases at East Anglian trade tasting

Published: 28 November, 2013

New Hall founder Piers Greenwood capped off a winning year with the release of his Sparkling English Rosé magnum at the East Anglian Vineyard Association's recent trade tasting.

Largest World Bulk Wine Exhibition attracts nearly 6,000 visitors to Amsterdam

Published: 28 November, 2013

The largest World Bulk Wine Exhibition held to date took place this week in Amsterdam with up to 176 wineries taking part from 16 different countries.

Santa Rita Estates to host wine education workshops in London in January

Published: 28 November, 2013

Chilean wine producer, Santa Rita Estates, is to once again hold its South American Wine workshops in London in January as part of its three year educational programme.

Majority of Champagne is not being sold "well" says Taittinger chief

Published: 27 November, 2013

Up to 70% of Champagne around the world is not being sold "well" and the major houses need to step up their act to protect the category, according to the head of Champagne Taittinger, Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger.

Q&A: Marie-Annick Consola, sales director, Vignobles Foncalieu

Published: 25 November, 2013

Anne Krebiehl talks to Marie-Annick Consola of Vignobles Foncalieu a collective co-operative that covers numerous appellations across the south of France and the Rhône Valley. It's 1,200 members work 5,100 hectares of vineyards and sales exceed 21 million bottles. Foncalieu's progressive management embarked on the path of premium production roughly a decade ago. Consola wasin London to introduce the 'Iconic' range, a collection of stand-out wines from distinct appellations like Saint-Chinian, Corbières, Minervois and Côteaux d'Esérune as well as the wines of Château Haut Gléon in Corbières. While Foncalieu still provides some own-label wines for Asda, it has largely moved away from the high-volume off-trade.

Producers urged to push sweeter sparkling wines in China

Published: 25 November, 2013

The paltry sparkling market in China could be significantly enlarged by promoting sweeter sparkling wines, according to leading professionals engaged in the country.

Social media is "essential" for brands looking to break in to Chinese wine market

Published: 25 November, 2013

A social media presence in China should now be considered an "essential part" of any wine brands marketing strategy in the country, according to analysts Wine Intelligence.

Diageo hopes to prop up United Spirits deal by selling "bulk" of Whyte & Mackay

Published: 25 November, 2013

Diageo is offering to sell off a "bulk" of its Whyte & Mackay whisky brands in order to address concerns the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) has had over competition issues in the British whisky market.

Treasury Wine Estates and Accolade sign further bottling agreement in California

Published: 22 November, 2013

Treasury Wine Estates has signed a further deal this week with Accolade Winesto provide packaging and production services for several brands based in California, including its Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak and XYZin brands.

Personalised marketing is key to future wine sales says Amazon at Wine Vision

Published: 21 November, 2013

Personalised marketing, customer reviews and product comparisons are key to successfully selling alcohol online, according to Amazon.

Q&A: Eva Minguez Lobato, marketing director of Regulatory Council for D.O RÍAS BAIXAS

Published: 21 November, 2013

Ahead of next week's Rias Baixas Mini Fair at London's Glaziers Hall on November 25 we talk to Eva Minguez Lobato about what plans the Spanish region has to build on its growing popularity in the UK.

Go direct and get ambassadors for your brand hears Wine Vision

Published: 21 November, 2013

Selling wine direct to the consumer is one of the best ways of creating brand ambassadors, according to the wine trade.

Wine Vision Live News Blog: Why wine is integral to Amazon's growth strategy

Published: 20 November, 2013

Amazon has its sights firmly set on the wine and alcoholic drinks sector as it sees the "consumables" sector as a vital part of its future growth strategy.

Wine Vision Live News Blog: Tesco's Dan Jago vision of being a world class wine business

Published: 19 November, 2013

6pm

Wine Vision's leader view: Paul Symington, Symington Family Estates

Published: 19 November, 2013

"Sometimes people ask me: 'Why do you sell to supermarkets?' I'm astounded by the question. If I didn't, we would have to lay off at least 80% of our staff and sack
more than 90% of our growers."

Wine Vision's leader view: Ted Baseler, ceo Ste Michelle Wine Estates

Published: 19 November, 2013

"I call our approach the 'string of pearls' - we keep each winery separate, with its own manager, its own name and winemaker. Then we have the string through the pearls which is the back-of-house admin"

Wine Vision's leader view: Christophe Salin, Domaines Barons de Rothschild

Published: 19 November, 2013

"I don't like to see amateurs getting into vineyards. They don't realise that it takes a long time for it to be profitable - as the saying goes: "How do you make a small fortune out of a vineyard? Start with a large fortune."

Wine Vision Live news: online wine is opening up mass Chinese wine market

Published: 19 November, 2013

11am: E-commerce and online wine sales is helping to democratise the Chinese wine market and open up the global world of wine to consumers in even the most remote parts of China, delegates heard at the second day of the Wine Visionconference in London.