MOTION
This House believes that what's on the outside of the bottle is more important than what's inside.'
THE PANEL
Chairman:
Christian Davis, editor, Harpers
Proposers:
Keith Lay, marketing director, Ehrmanns;
Kevin Shaw, Stranger & Stranger
Opposers:
Robin Kinahan MW, director, HwCg;
Nick Room, buyer, Waitrose
Statistician/independent witness:
Lulie Halstead, Wine Intelligence
Market analyst AC Nielsen has confirmed that off-trade wine sales have struggled since the turn of the year and have recently started to fall.
Jacob's Creek's chief winemaker Phil Laffer has revealed that the company's first vintage sparkling wine will be released in the UK by the end of the year.
Cockburn & Campbell, the wine and spirits subsidiary of London brewer Young's, and Havelock Wines, owned by Bedford brewer Charles Wells, are to merge as part of the creation of a new company to produce the two brewers' beers.
Read more...Harrods is promoting German wines for the first time in its history. With the World Cup just days away, one-third of the London store's wine shelf space will be devoted to German wine.
Spanish producer Castillo Perelada has announced details of a new 18 million winery.
After years of research, Spanish winemakers in Rioja and Ribera del Duero have claimed that Tempranillo, and all of its namesakes, such as Tinto Fino, Tinto de Toro and Tinta del Pais, are, in fact, different clones with their own flavour profiles.
Bob Rishworth, managing director of Chali Richards, the wine division of Halewood International, has been appointed chairman of the North West Wine and Spirit Association - a position he will hold for two years.
Read more...Alcohol, as it is elsewhere in the world, is a very hot topic here. Everybody's acutely aware that there's more of it in Australian red wines these days than there used to be.
Read more...Twenty-five German producers (all with winemakers under 35 years old) from various regions will showcase their wines - mainly Riesling, but also other regional grape varieties - at this event.
Read more...Israel is a New World' wine producer in one of the oldest wine regions on earth. In this country no bigger than Wales, there is a curious combination of the new, old and ancient worlds of winemaking.
Read more...The much-publicised 1976 Judgement of Paris' re-enactment - held simultaneously in London and Napa - once again came out heavily in favour of California's finest, which won the top five places, and generated widespread press coverage on both sides of the Atlantic.
Visitor numbers at the 2006 LIWSF were around 300 down on 2005, at 18,811 over the three days.
John Phillips, the managing director of FGL Wine Estates EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), has left the company for personal reasons. He is being replaced by Peter Jackson, who moves up from commercial director for Continental Europe on 1 June.
A new bespoke' wine tasting service utilising the services of Anthony Rose, Andrew Jefford, Oz Clarke, Robert Joseph, Steven Spurrier, Michael Broadbent and Charles Metcalfe has been launched by wine writer John Stimpfig and wine consultant Sophie Jump.
Read more...After the final round of binding bids to buy Taittinger were submitted last week, speculation was rife in Reims that the flambouyant Indian entrepreneur Vijay Mallya had become a surprise contender for the sixth-largest producer in Champagne.
Islay distillery Laphroaig is launching a limited edition 1994 bottling.
Read more...The LIWSF affords producers one of the best opportunities to launch products, and this year's event was no exception, with many new wines on show.
Read more...Berry Bros & Rudd is to close its four Heathrow Airport shops after finding it impossible' to compete for space with other luxury goods retailers.
New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) is about to launch a
six-week promotion which will involve around 50 independent wine merchants.
