Calvet sold to owner of JP Chenet

Bordeaux negoiant house Calvet has been sold to Les Grands Chais de France, which owns the JP Chenet brand.

Super Seconds

My sweet love

The most baffling thing about Sauternes is how its producers survive. It's not just the unpredictability of Botrytis cinerea; in 2004 the yield at Chteau Climens was less than four hectolitres per hectare (4hl/ha). At Chteau Suduiraut in the same year they left three-quarters of the grapes behind. The opening price of the wine, what there was of it, was 32 at Climens, 22-26 at Suduiraut. Both prices were less than the cost of production.

The Interview: Onder Sahan and Haldun Ertem

by Christian Davis

Ex-Allied boss takes directorial role at Berry's

Philip Bowman has been appointed as a non-executive director of London wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd.

IWSC hosts first mini-showcase in South Africa

On 14 November, the International Wine & Spirit Competition hosted its inaugural Mini-Showcase Tasting at Spier Conference Centre in Stellenbosch,
South Africa.

No EU tax harmonisation

by Rebecca Gibb
The European Court of Justice has ruled that consumers will not be allowed to buy alcohol or cigarettes from Europe over the internet without paying domestic import duty.

WSET: Education leads to bigger spend

Consumers are willing to increase their spend and experiment if they attend a wine course, according to the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and research from Wine Intelligence.

Italian wine still baffles consumers

by Rebecca Gibb
Two-thirds of drinkers of Italian wine admit that they are confused by the country's grape varieties and regions.

Top gong goes to Bell

The Bell at Skenfrith on the Welsh borders has won Champagne Taittinger's wine list award for small hotels, pipping Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham and The Crown at Whitebrook near Monmouth. According to judges the list was a really good read'. Holbeck Ghyll in Cumbria won the category for larger establishments, for Hotels and Spas in the UK and Ireland, beating Combe House in Devon, Cotswold House Hotel in Gloucestershire and Sharrow Bay in Cumbria.

Unknown chef wins Michael Nadell Pastry Trophy

Chris Corbishley, who is training to become a pastry chef at Stoke-on-Trent College, has won the Michael Nadell Pastry Trophy, sponsored by Champagne Duval-Leroy.

Corney & Barrow take on yet more on-trade staff

Corney & Barrow, with two new appointments in recent weeks, has added five staff to its on-trade supply area in the past six months, and there are more to come, says on-trade manager James Franklin.

Gun owners open new venture

Tom and Ed Martin, proprietors of The Gun gastropub in London's Docklands, are to open a striking, colonial-themed pub in London's east end. The former name of the establishment, The Empress of India, is to be restored in a return to authentic style - the wording refers to one of Queen Victoria's overseas roles. Hand-painted silk wallpaper depicting Indian scenes and a recently laid mosaic floor have been constructed, with input from Concorde Interiors.

Edinburgh second-best city for eating out

The best city to eat out in in the UK after London is Edinburgh, according to the Harden's new restaurant guide. The vegetarian restaurant David Bann, as well as VinCaffe, part of Valvona & Crolla, were among more than 20 venues in the city to have impressed reviewers in the 2007 guide. Edinburgh was followed by Brighton, Leeds and Manchester, with Bristol managing a surprisingly lowly tenth place. In the individual awards for top restaurants, sponsored by Rmy Martin, the new Soho-based diner Arbutus was placed first for its imaginative rendition of French and European dishes.

Rogan buys new Henley site

Simon Rogan is planning a less-pricey version of his Lake District restaurant L'Enclume, in a bid to subsidise his highly rated Cumbrian site at the fine dining level.

Mas calls for EU subsidy shake-up

Languedoc producer Jean-Claude Mas has called on the EU to end its policy of subsidising winemakers.

Leigh to leave Kensington Place after nearly 20 years

Rowley Leigh is to leave Kensington Place and is looking at a handful of new projects to work on as head chef. Speaking to Harpers, Leigh said that he was sad in some ways, but I've had a good innings. Kensington Place was becoming like a warm bath for me and I needed something new.'

No cases of 24-hour opening

Not a single UK pub is open for 24 hours, a year after new licensing laws came in, allowing longer opening, and predictions of increased town-centre violence fuelled by higher alcohol consumption have failed to materialise.

Batali given two stars out of blue

Mario Batali's new Del Posto restaurant has come from nowhere to gain two-star status in the 2007 Michelin guide to New York.

Cocktail culture

There's a lot more to cocktails than vodka, though you wouldn't know that from what most bars have been offering for the past five years. Robbie Bargh, who advises barmen on how to improve their drinks, via his company Gorgeous, speaks for quite a few in his belief that: There are so many terrible drinks out there that are overmixed beyond belief, some really awful concoctions. Instead of tricksy, clever things, it's so much better to keep things simple, like you can when making a plain, old classic'.