Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Catena chief winemaker calls 2019 vintage “one of the best in 10 years”

Published: 21 April, 2020

The chief winemaker at Argentina’s Bodega Catena Zapata has called 2019 “one of the best vintages of the last 10 years”.

Sogrape declares 2018 vintage for Sandeman, Offley and Ferreira

Published: 09 April, 2020

Sogrape Estates has declared 2018 a vintage year for its Sandeman, Offley and Ferreira estates.

Friday Read: Price and vintage in Champagne

Published: 31 January, 2020

To the untrained eye, little has changed in the world of Champagne marketing. The Grande Marques, endowed with lavish budgets, continue to position themselves at the most glamorous events. Vintages are declared and the well-oiled marketing machine continues to roll.

‘Buy now’ advice for Burgundy 2018 reds as quality outstrips 2015

Published: 28 January, 2020

Bountiful crops and idyllic weather was the talk of Europe in 2018, following on from the dismal vintage shortfalls of 2017 where producers suffered bouts of frost, hail and a late spell of searing heat.

McGuigan Wines eyes Tumbarumba expansion as part of its cool climate “plan”

Published: 08 November, 2019

McGuigan Wines has revealed a blueprint to focus on its cool climate messaging in order to continue to transform Australia’s reputation at the premium end from “in your face wines” to wines of “flavour, intensity, structure and length”.

Bancroft releases 2017 Glaetzer vintage

Published: 28 October, 2019

London-based distributor Bancroft Wines has released the 2017 vintage from Barossa Valley producers Glaetzer Wines to the UK market.

Cramele Recas on target to hit 23m litres for 2019 vintage

Published: 09 October, 2019

Cramele Recas has confirmed it is poised to hit 23m litres for this year’s vintage with only 10,000 tons of grapes to go for the harvest to reach the target.

Cockburn’s unveils image overhaul

Published: 04 September, 2019

Port royalty, the Symingtons Family Estate, has unveiled a new look for its core Cockburn’s range to coincide with the 50th anniversary of its Special Reserve label.

Australian wine grape crush defies early predictions

Published: 19 July, 2019

The National Vintage Report 2019 for Australia has revealed a 1% decrease in the national wine grape crush to an estimated 1.73 million tonnes (Mt).

Winetraders signs up Hampshire’s Exton Park

Published: 28 June, 2019

Winetraders has expanded its listings with the addition of English sparkling wine producer Exton Park.

Market frustrated at pricing of Bordeaux 2018

Published: 28 June, 2019

Traders have found the release of Bordeaux’s 2018 vintage “perplexing” and “frustrating”, according to a report from Liv-Ex.

Kopke and Casa Burmester latest to declare 2017 a vintage year

Published: 20 June, 2019

Kopke and Casa Burmester are the latest Port houses to declare 2017 as a vintage of outstanding quality.

The week that was

Published: 10 May, 2019

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, here’s a review of the top online news, analysis, opinion and features.

Fladgate latest to announce back-to-back vintage declaration

Published: 23 April, 2019

Things are heating up in the Douro, with yet another port house following up 2016 with another vintage year.

Rioja 2018 given the thumbs up from the DOCa despite weather woes

Published: 17 April, 2019

The Rioja vintage for 2018 has been classified as ‘Good’ despite the uncertainty around the impact of unpredictable weather conditions on the region.

Soave hails vintage as a success despite ‘tricky year’

Published: 23 November, 2018

Consorzio of Soave has hailed the 2018 vintage as a success predominantly thanks to the ‘Sentinels of Soave’.

‘Ready to drink’ 2017 Burgundies could ease sky-high prices ahead of Brexit

Published: 15 November, 2018

The wines now emerging from Burgundy’s 2017 vintage could help to ease the pockets of restaurants and fine wine merchants, it has been suggested.

Douro harvest delivers quality on back of “absurdly low” yields

Published: 17 October, 2018

Following a year of challenging weather extremes, the Douro’s 2018 harvest has given up some “excellent Ports and Douro wines” according to Symington Family Estate’s annual harvest report.

Computer vision: an eye on the future

Published: 26 July, 2018

Computer vision has been used for years for facial recognition software and this this type of technology will become instrumental in decoding drinking trends, says Jo Gilbert.