Bill Page, chairman of London-based distributor Mentzendorff, is standing down from the company at the end of June. Page joined the company as managing director in 2001 and became chairman in 2004.
Arnould d'Hautefeuille, president of Societe Jacques Bollinger (one of the two major shareholders), will take on the chairmanship.
German brand Devil's Rock is to expand, with a new umbrella brand called the Private Collection.
Read more...A new 7.99 range of Australian wines has been launched by Percy Fox, with a big emphasis on regionality.
Franois Mauss, founder-president of the Grand Jury Europen - which conducts large-scale blind tastings using an international panel - has criticised the 30th anniversary rematch of the Judgement of Paris' tasting due to take place in London and Napa on 24 May.
Read more...Franois Mauss, founder-president of the Grand Jury Europen - which conducts large-scale blind tastings using an international panel - has criticised the 30th anniversary rematch of the Judgement of Paris' tasting due to take place in London and Napa on 24 May.
Read more...It's taken for granted now, but there was a time when Mis en bouteille au chteau' was a badge of honour, signifying that a wine had not been sloshed around in a barrel while en route to the UK. Bottled at source and with its cork firmly in place, the quality of the wine was vouchsafed by its arrival: intact, labelled and ready for the consumer. Taken for granted, but increasingly not the case.
Western Wines has cancelled its proposed seminar at this year's LIWSF, following its takeover by Constellation Wines. The seminar, entitled What are the predictions for premium wine in the UK market in the 2012 Olympic year?', was due to be held from 10.30am to 11.30am on Thursday 18 May, in the LIWSF seminar arena by entrance S8 of ExCeL.
Read more...Islay distillery Bruichladdich saw its profits rise 101% to 403,000 in 2005 - only four years after it was reopened. Chairman Sir John Mactaggart commented: This is another encouraging performance. Bruichladdich punches above its weight in a sector dominated by multinationals. In Russia we are the fourth-largest-selling single malt.'
Following thace collapse of Mayfair Cellars (see Harpers, 28 April) wine merchant Stone, Vine & Sun is temporarily looking after the distribution of Jacquesson Champagne.
Chris Mitchell of Cube Communications and The Drinks Sampling Company would like to assure readers he has not changed his surname to Hambleton, as appeared in Harpers April 28 issue. He will continue to use Mitchell for many years to come.
Read more...The Cava and Peneds Wine Institute is inviting applications from those involved in any aspect of the wine industry to take part in the 23nd edition of its wine course, to be held between 25 September and 1 October 2006 in Vilafranca del Peneds, near Barcelona, Spain.
Osborne, the Spanish drinks group, will now distribute its selection of Toledo table wines in the UK through
Cheshire-based D&D Wines International. The wines were previously handled by Halewood International.
Harpers contributing editor Neil Beckett and contributor Jamie Goode have both been nominated for the Louis Roederer Award for International Wine Writer of the Year 2006. Beckett is also nominated in the International Champagne Writer category, for his articles in the Harpers Champagne supplement.
Scottish & Newcastle UK (S&N UK) has formed a joint venture with logistics firm Kuehne + Nagel to organise drinks distribution in the UK.
How did you start?
I was a management trainee at the Coconut Grove, then went on to manage the Hampton Court Brasserie, Sweeney Todd's in Northampton and The Golden Pheasant in Oxford. And then I managed a caravan park in the Lake District.
Two years ago there was a press visit to Gallo's headquarters in Modesto and to its Livingston winery (which claims to be the largest in the world). Letting the press into the heart of the Gallo operations would have been unthinkable a few years before. Since then, I have been chasing the chance to meet Joe Gallo, the man at the centre of what is probably the largest single wine brand in the world.
Across many northern hemisphere countries, the 2005 vintage was exceptionally dry, while a few had the opposite problem. Harpers rounds up the most important harvest reports from an already much-hyped year
Read more...Those who feels that the relatively recent ros revolution' represents just a footnote in the history of UK wine consumption need do little more than glimpse at the latest release from publishers Weidenfeld & Nicholson to be convinced otherwise.
Read more...The World Cup is over and Australia inched to glory after a tense and sweaty final against gallant runners-up Portugal.
Brazil was forced into early retirement after an embarrassing first-round thrashing, while Germany succumbed in the semis.
Two years ago I visited several wineries in Romania all making wines that, in terms of quality and value, could hold their own with what is on UK wine shelves, at least up to the 10 mark. I was able to express enthusiasm about the wines, but my heart sank when, as inevitably happens when visiting a region not well established in the UK, I was asked about how they might prosper in the UK.
