Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Price rises ‘essential’ if South Africa industry to survive, warns leading producer

Published: 17 May, 2019

A leading figure in South African wine has issued a stark warning about the industry's future.

Prowein: CyT unveils ambitious plans to push through £10 Chile price ceiling

Published: 20 March, 2019

Chilean producer Concha y Toro (CyT) has put in place a new premium-focused strategy designed to double the company’s operating margins by 2020, coupled with the aim of boosting sales of its brands at £10 and above.

Jerry Lockspeiser: What’s the cost of a decent bottle of wine?

Published: 17 March, 2019

The You and Yours programme on BBC Radio 4 recently ran a piece in which a £7.50 Chinese wine in Sainsbury’s was described by the interviewer as “cheap and cheerful”. A flurry of listeners comments followed, aghast that £7.50 should be thought cheap. Many were paying £4-5, unable to afford more, and generally happy with what they were buying. One listener said his wine buff family members couldn’t tell the difference between his £4-5 wines and more expensive ones anyway.

Climate change leaving Beaujolais in fear of being priced out of the market by cereal and milk

Published: 11 March, 2019

The temperature is rising in Beaujolais, leaving producers to worry their products will be edged out of consumers’ repertoires by rival crops.

Q&A: Dean Harper, owner of HarperWells shares his Norwich knowledge

Published: 12 February, 2019

James Lawrence talks Brexit, MUP, millennials and alternative formats with indie Dean Harper of HarperWells

Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective launch lays down gauntlet to UK and US buyers

Published: 13 September, 2018

Be prepared to pay more or risk losing top Stellenbosch Cabernets to the Asian market was one of the messages to UK and US buyers at the launch of the Stellenbosch Cabernet Collective at Cape Wine 2018.

Brexit pushed Californian wine price up by a fifth

Published: 27 June, 2018

The average price of Californian wine imported to the European Union surged by nearly a fifth in the year of the Brexit vote, analysis by Harpers reveals.

Thinking outside the wine box on global shortages

Published: 08 June, 2018

Sourcing more cannily, focusing on quality and seeking out alternatives are just some of the outcomes that have resulted from increased supply and price pressures over the past few years. Re-evaluation was a key theme at the London Wine Fair Innovation Zone debate on May 22, as panellists discussed how best to meet changing consumer needs when global consumption patterns and global supply rarely see eye to eye.

Big name Champagnes fare best as Brexit hits smaller players

Published: 01 June, 2018

Brexit-related inflation is hitting drinkers of cheaper and less well-known Champagnes hardest in the UK as sales of entry-level bottles continue to fall, while bigger name brands and more expensive cuvées are faring better.

Europe leads private label premiumisation

Published: 25 April, 2018

The quality of private label wines are on the up – and Europe is leading the pack.

Liberty Wines' premium on-trade report has its eye on the high ground

Published: 16 April, 2018

In an exclusive Harpers preview, Liberty Wines has shared its upcoming Premium On-trade Wine Report, identifying where growth opportunities still lie. Andrew Catchpole picks out the highlights

Sparkling drives growth as inflation bites down on average prices

Published: 12 March, 2018

Volume sales of alcohol continued to decline in the UK off-trade in 2017, but value sales increased in both yearly and quarterly sales, particularly in sparkling wine, which remains the main driver of growth for the overall wine category.

Balance of power shifts to producers as bulk wine outstrips bottled supply

Published: 27 February, 2018

Unpredictability is the new norm, securing supply has become more critical than price and power has shifted from buyers to producers.

Average on-trade red bottle price rises £8 in a year thanks to premium upswing

Published: 05 January, 2018

Wine prices have seen significant upward movement in the on-trade, new research suggests, with red in particular receiving a generous boost from a rise in premium listings.

Burgundy trading hits new heights and Barolo on roll as Bordeaux and Rhone fall

Published: 15 December, 2017

Burgundy has had its best trading year in a decade and is at an all-time high for 2017, according to Liv-ex, the global fine wine trading marketplace.

Tim Atkin MW: Wine's luxury lustre

Published: 06 December, 2017

Serendipity is part of the pleasure of owning a wine cellar. Unless you’re the kind of person who keeps a log of every bottle that’s down there – I’m as organised as the next Virgo, but there are limits – these chance discoveries are wonderful. Well, most of the time. For every bottle of oxidised Condrieu or dried-out claret, there are dozens that are exciting to unearth. I had a bottle of 2006 TMV Swartland Syrah recently, made by Chris and Andrea Mullineux before they set up their own now globally famous winery in South Africa, and it was a revelation.

Hammer to fall on Scottish minimum pricing

Published: 14 November, 2017

A landmark ruling in the long-running battle over minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland will be made on Wednesday morning (15 November) by the UK Supreme Court.

South Africa chases premium ground

Published: 13 November, 2017

As South Africa strives to push innovation and quality, natural factors may just provide the tipping point for the country.

Big squeeze tipped for 2018 as lower volumes and tighter margins predicted

Published: 06 November, 2017

What is shaping up to be the smallest vintage in 50 years is predicted to cause a “dramatic decline in wine availability going into 2018”, with the lower-price tiers of the European industry expected to be the worst affected.