Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Gusbourne unveils hybrid distribution partnership with Enotria&Coe

Published: 20 November, 2024

Leading sparkling wine producer Gusbourne has joined forces with Enotria&Coe to expand the brand's presence in the UK on-trade.

Friday read: Sellex’s Anthony Carr on supermarkets’ underselling of English wine

Published: 02 August, 2024

With English wine enjoying an explosion of growth – and almost a third of Britons saying in a recent Aldi survey that they would celebrate a wedding with English fizz – supermarkets are not doing enough to either exploit that growth or promote it further.

Champagne faces off against sparkling Riesling

Published: 07 May, 2024

Champagne’s supremacy was put through its paces last week when it went head to head with a ‘lost and forgotten world-class category’ of sparkling wines in a blind tasting.

White hot: Demand for fizz pushes white production to its highest ever level

Published: 14 February, 2024

Global red wine supply and demand have significantly decreased in the last twenty years, while white wine has picked up the slack (along with rosé), largely due to the boom in sparkling wine in markets like the UK.

WineGB announces new CEO

Published: 23 August, 2023

Wines of Great Britain (WineGB) has announced the appointed of Nicola Bates as its new CEO.

Freixenet Copestick: A sparkling performance

Published: 05 July, 2023

Major moves are taking place at Freixenet Copestick, with a change in leadership at Jascots and a new team at the helm of recently acquired Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex. Jo Gilbert catches up with the duo leading the transition

Exclusive: New head of Jascots

Published: 30 June, 2023

A major change in leadership is in the offing at distributor Jascots Wine Merchants, where long-standing managing partner Miles MacInnes is stepping down after 17 years at the company.

Chapel Down stunt “raises eyebrows” among the Champenois

Published: 13 June, 2023

English winery Chapel Down has loosed the cat among the proverbial pigeons in Reims ahead of English Wine Week, by going undercover as Champagne – and apparently beating the Champenois at their own game.

Canned Wine Co. extends premium reach with fizz

Published: 16 May, 2023

Canned Wine Co. has extended its premium-focused range into sparkling wine, with the roll out of more to come.

Sam Linter says farewell to Bolney

Published: 20 April, 2023

Bolney Wine Estate’s longstanding chief winemaker is moving on to pursue new opportunities, following a transition period to new owners Freixenet Copestick.

Nova Scotia targets UK market

Published: 13 March, 2023

Wines of Nova Scotia landed in London late last week, with its first ever solo tasting aimed at the UK trade.

Danbury Ridge shows eastern promise

Published: 21 February, 2023

Essex clays are poised to lead the charge of quality English still wine. Andrew Catchpole reports from Crouch Valley’s Danbury Ridge.

Chapel Down to produce two million bottles from 2022

Published: 17 October, 2022

The UK's largest winery has published an update on vintage 2022 in southern England, celebrating “both the exceptional grape quality and yield”.

Fizz and cocktails set to pop this Jubilee weekend as the less-but-better trend continues

Published: 31 May, 2022

Brits drink less alcohol than they did during the past two Jubilee celebrations – a trend which is likely to carry over this weekend as party planners fill shelves and ice boxes. However, wine and spirits have a greater share of that pie, as the two categories steal a march from the once all-powerful beer category.

Chapel Down announces new cricket partnership

Published: 06 April, 2022

UK wine brand Chapel Down has been welcomed into the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as its official sparkling wine.

Nyetimber announces record year as estate leads the way for English sparkling

Published: 14 February, 2022

The UK’s leading English sparkling wine brand, Nyetimber, enjoyed a record year in 2021 in both sales and production. Following its largest ever harvest, Nyetimber’s UK sales increased by 55% on the previous year. Situated in the south of England, the 30-year-old winemakers saw sales in Europe grow by a whopping 89%.

Christmas 2021: boom or bust?

Published: 24 January, 2022

James Lawrence finds the festive season was a mixed bag, with reduced sales in many areas but some sectors exceeding expectations.

Alliance Wine expands portfolio with new sparkling wine agency

Published: 21 January, 2022

West Sussex-based Roebuck Estates has become the latest producer to join the Alliance Wine collection of premium brands.

Bolney Wine Estate acquired by major international

Published: 17 January, 2022

Sussex-based Bolney Wine Estate has been sold to sparkling wine behemoth Henkell-Freixenet via Freixenet Copestick in the UK.

Prosecco opens doors for Italy

Published: 12 January, 2022

David Kermode delves into the world of Italian sparklers as the category covers new ground, from the march of rosé Prosecco to the increasingly popular high-quality fizzes of Franciacorta and Trento.