Gallo moves away from E&J
The Gallo family has dropped the Ernest & Julio in its name and introduced the name Gallo Family Vineyards, ahead of its 75th anniversary in 2008.
Read more...The Gallo family has dropped the Ernest & Julio in its name and introduced the name Gallo Family Vineyards, ahead of its 75th anniversary in 2008.
Read more...South African brand FirstCape is to get a home' for the first time when a 4.5 million-litre winery is built in the Breede Valley later this year.
Swedish giant V&S is to sell its Danish vodka brand, Danzka, and increase its focus on its core portfolio of Absolut vodka and Cruzan rum.
Asda's beers, wines and spirits team is back to full strength, following a host of internal appointments.
Download the Quality Drink Conference 2006 Sponsorship & Promotional Opportunities information pdf here
Read more...As a consumer, I readily to admit to being something of a Riedel convert. After all, I've done the tastings, seen the light and got the glasses (well, some of them). Wine really does seem to taste better in a Riedel glass - especially if it's the right' one. And yet, the journalist in me can't help but remain a tad agnostic about some of the proselytising in Riedel's sales pitch.
Cube Communications and Sensible Wine Services have teamed up to launch a new company, which focuses entirely on presenting wines, beers and spirits to consumers face to face.
The contenders to take over Taittinger Champagne have been whittled down to a short list from the 40 or so who expressed initial interest.
Fine wine merchant Mayfair Cellars has gone into administration after a scam whereby top Bordeaux and Burgundy was allegedly sold to other London wine merchants.
How did you get into this business?
I was in the RAF for seven years, in a catering squadron, and when I left I planned to go home to Sydney. But I had a house in Torquay that I wanted to sell first. In the interim, I needed a job and I spotted an ad for a general assistant at Gidleigh Park Hotel. I had never heard of Gidleigh and had no idea about Relais & Chateaux or Michelin stars. I remember driving down this narrow, winding road and coming round the last corner to see this mock-Tudor mansion embedded in the hillside. Paul Henderson, the owner at the time, is a former US marine, so we spent most of the interview discussing my time in the service. He took me on and I ended up staying until 2002.
Diageo is offering Smirnoff vodka drinkers the chance to wine one of 10 one-carat diamonds worth 10,000 each, in a promotion beginning next month.
Read more...A bottle of 1996 Dom Prignon - signed by all the surviving members of the victorious 1966 World Cup team - will go under the hammer at Sotheby's in London next month.
Read more...Majestic unveiled 70 new listings at a recent tasting of its summer collection - a larger addition to the range than usual. The two sectors to be given the most attention were Chile and Italy, with the former showing growth and the latter receiving a partial overhaul.
Read more...At a time when oil prices, security costs and retailer demands are hitting record heights, companies in all parts of the supply chain are having to be more efficient than ever. Finding the best route from A to B has never been more important.
Read more...What made you set up shop in Torquay?
Simon, my husband and the head chef, went to school round here, and his family live in Paignton, the town next door, so we know the area. People have this image of Torquay, but it's not like Fawlty Towers any more.
Last month, a press release arrived at Harpers Towers declaring that the recruitment process was under way to find a UK director for Wines of Argentina's London office. This will be a challenging appointment,' it said. They're not wrong.
Read more...If the worldly trials of the drinks industry ever get you down, a trawl through the entries relating to religion (Bible, Eucharist, Religion) in the Oxford Companion to Wine could prove to be a tonic. Whatever your spiritual persuasion - Christian, Jewish, pagan - here you will find succinct reminders of the central role that wine has played in myriad aspects of Western spiritual and psychic development ever since Noah planted the first vine in Genesis.
Read more...Jeremy Beadles, the chief executive of the Wines & Spirit Trade Association - together with a committee of senior wine trade members - is to draw up alternative mechanics for imposing wine duty rises after a positive meeting with senior Treasury officials on 1 March.
Beadles commented: The Treasury seemed prepared to listen, and accepted that the current system is effectively a tax on margin. It is up to us now to put together a report that proves our arguments and provides a workable alternative to the current system. From their point of view, how duty increases are introduced is not important as long as they receive the same amount of revenue. What they will not accept, of course, is a fall in the total duty take.'
Beadles added that the report will take at least six months to put together. This is a long-term project'.
The seven-man committee includes Christopher Carson, the chairman of Constellation Wines Europe and Mike Paul, the managing director of Western Wines.
France Under One Roof
Wednesday 22 March
The Nursery End Pavilion,
Lord's Cricket Ground, Wellington Road,
London NW8 (North Gate Entrance)
10am-5pm
For more details contact Jane Hunt MW on 01451 831682; janehuntmw@aol.com
Nyetimber Vineyards, widely seen as one of the UK's finest sparkling wine producers, has been sold to a UK-based Dutch venture capitalist for an estimated 7.5 million.
The buyer, Eric Heerema, told Harpers he was taking a very long-term view' with the project, and definitely will not compromise the quality of the product'. He said: Every aspect of the business will be looked at, from the vineyards to the winemaking to the bottling with a view to increase quality.'
The current winemaker, Dermot Sugrue, has been retained, with Christopher Varley, a management consultant, appointed as interim general manager. Heerema will take on the position of chief executive on a part-time basis.