News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Gallo grows by 23%

Published: 23 July, 2008

California producer E&J Gallo had the fastest-growing wine sales of any company in the UK last year, achieving 23.9% growth.

New export manager for Rhne wines

Published: 23 July, 2008

Florence Boube-Legrand is the new export manager of generic body Inter Rhne, following the departure of Franois Drounau last month. Her role will include looking after the UK market, and the promotion and communication of Ctes du Rhne wines. Boube-Legrand has worked at Inter Rhne for three years, and has covered central and northern European markets, as well as parts of Asia, and will continue to do so in her new role. She said: It is very exciting to have the opportunity to work on a mature market such as the UK, where Ctes du Rhne wines are already established and successful. Ctes du Rhne is currently the number one AOC in the off-trade and I'm looking forward to the challenge of maintaining and strengthening this position in 2007.'

Sauvignon Blanc wins out over rot

Published: 23 July, 2008

Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine, Sancerre and Pouilly-Fum are undoubtedly the most successful of the 2006 wines from the Loire Valley, combining ripe fruit balanced with acidity.

Harveys urges Sherry drinkers to chill

Published: 23 July, 2008

Beam UK, owners of Sherry brand Harveys, is spending around 1 million this year in an attempt to persuade consumers to chill the product before they drink it.

Communicator award shortlist

Published: 23 July, 2008

The six candidates for the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year have been announced, and they include regular Harpers contributors Sarah Jane Evans MW and Jamie Goode.

Kiwi wines bask in critical approval

Published: 23 July, 2008

New Zealand's wines are now up there with the best, according to influential international wine commentators attending a recent run of wine conferences in New Zealand. And there wasn't a Sauvignon Blanc in sight. This wave of what is some of the greatest praise received by the industry was prompted by the Pinot Noir 2007 conference held in Wellington, and the associated symposia on Aromatics in Nelson and Syrah in Hawkes Bay.

The Interview: Louis-Fabrice Latour, Proprietor and wine buyer, Maison Louis Latour

Published: 23 July, 2008

Louis-Fabrice Latour, a member of the seventh generation of Burgundy ngociant Maison Louis Latour, is also its head, having taken over from his father (who is still the chairman of the board) in 1999. A fluent, idiomatic English speaker, he has spent more than two years of his life, off and on, in England and prefers to conduct interviews completely in English. He studied political science in Paris and, as is the Maison Louis Latour policy, has travelled the world to understand its wine markets and wine trends. He has recently been re-elected to a second three-year term as president of Burgundy's ngociants.

New range for Evans & Tate

Published: 23 July, 2008

Margaret River winery Evans & Tate, which has been in the midst of takeover talks, has launched its new X & Y range in the UK.

Predators stalk J Sainsbury

Published: 23 July, 2008

Britain's third-largest supermarket group, J Sainsbury, is on bid alert following the announcement from a consortium of private equity groups that they are in the early stages' of a possible takeover bid. City analysts believe that to be successful a bid would have to be above 11 billion.

Thieves' 20,000 Champagne haul

Published: 23 July, 2008

Thieves who broke into a London wine merchant last weekend made off with around 20,000 of Champagne.

Chilean wine bodies join forces

Published: 23 July, 2008

The two major bodies representing Chilean wineries have united to form a single association.

UK drinkers are more adventurous than US

Published: 23 July, 2008

UK consumers drink a wider range of wine styles than their US counterparts, according to new research.

Warninks labels fail to conform to the law

Published: 23 July, 2008

First Drinks Brands, the independent drinks distributor owned by William Grant & Sons, has admitted that illegally labelled bottles of Warninks advocaat have been circulating since November. The company only revealed the problem after the major Christmas trading season.

Communicator award shortlist

Published: 23 July, 2008

The six candidates for the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year have been announced, and they include regular Harpers contributors Sarah Jane Evans MW and Jamie Goode.

Australia drags its feet over vine louse

Published: 23 July, 2008

Despite the discovery of the vine louse phylloxera in the Yarra Valley, Australian winemakers have not been persuaded to start planting on resistant rootstocks. The pest was discovered in a section of eight-year-old Merlot vines in the Coldstream area in December. A 5km quarantine zone has now been drawn around the vineyard.

Oz winemakers anxious to develop own style of Pinot

Published: 23 July, 2008

Australian producers have been keen to point out that they do not want to make Alsatian Pinot Gris nor Burgundian Pinot Noir, but create a distinct Australian style.

Tri-varietals launch from Jacob's Creek

Published: 23 July, 2008

Jacob's Creek is launching three new tri-varietal wines, priced at 6.99. The Three Vines range is being positioned between the company's entry-level range (RRP 5.49-5.99) and its Reserve range (7.99).

Spain forges ahead full throttle

Published: 23 July, 2008

There are those who will tell you that in wine terms Spain has gone up a gear since the turn of the century. I've been going to Spain on wine-related business since 1972 and my own opinion is that Spain has gone up several boxes-full of gears since the year 2000, and is still accelerating. There is so much movement, new investment and new thinking that the mind starts to spin. Soaring land prices and ever more costly planting rights don't seem to have had the slightest effect and there are ambitious new projects, even in the most expensive areas, such as Ribera del Duero and Rioja.

The Spanish celebrate diversity

Published: 23 July, 2008

This year's Wines from Spain tasting celebrates the 25th anniversary of the creation of the generic body, and will feature 30 Spanish bodegas seeking UK representation, as well as 55 importers, with more than 2,000 wines available to taste.