News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Griswood moves to Tesco

Published: 23 July, 2008

Thresher Group buyer James Griswood has swapped the specialist sector for the grocery sector, joining Tesco as a wine product development manager.

Islay's Ardbeg launches 1965

Published: 23 July, 2008

Ardbeg - the Islay malt whisky owned by LVMH - is launching a new cask bottling from 1965, which will be priced at more than 2,000 a bottle.

Pol Roger moves into malt

Published: 23 July, 2008

Pol Roger UK has entered the Scotch sector after winning the UK distribution rights for Highland single malt Glenfarclas.

By Larry Walker
According to a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, global warming could wipe out most of the premium wine grapes in California by the close of the century.

Vinopolis revenue up

Published: 23 July, 2008

Vinopolis - the City of Wine' visitor attraction on London's South Bank that opened in 1999 - has announced that it has increased its annual revenue from corporate events to 4.6 million, more than three times the amount generated after Vinopolis's first year in business.

Laurent Perrier Ros scam

Published: 23 July, 2008

Retailers and wholesalers are being warned to be aware of a scam involving Laurent-Perrier Ros Champagne.

Plymouth Gin backed with 15 million push

Published: 23 July, 2008

Plymouth Gin has been relaunched with new packaging and market positioning - backed by a 15 million five-year budget from brand owner V&S, the Swedish company behind Absolut vodka.

The House that Jack and the Johns built

Published: 23 July, 2008

After one hundred years of trading, the House of Townend is celebrating this year. It all began with Hull Kingston Rovers' star Jack Townend taking a pub tenancy - the youngest licensee in Hull at the time - and then starting to bottle Guinness on the side.

Quality drinks conference

Published: 23 July, 2008

Heavily discounted branded wines and high government taxation are putting the future quality of wine sold in the UK in peril according to Jon Moromarco, chief executive officer, Constellation Europe, who was speaking at a leading drinks conference in London last month (June).

Internet the way forward for wine marketing

Published: 23 July, 2008

BY BEVERLEY BLANNING MW
Innovative ideas on how the wine business should market to today's consumer were suggested from industry outsider Terry McBride last week.

Details on 2007 Vinexpo

Published: 23 July, 2008

The 14th Vinexpo exhibition will take place from 17 to 21 June next year, at the Parc des Expositions in Bordeaux.

WSTA lobbies Government over training course licensing

Published: 23 July, 2008

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) is to lobby the Government after a number of wine educators have been told that they need a licence to run educational courses.

Warning over packaging fines

Published: 23 July, 2008

The chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has reiterated that wine companies are not complying with the Packaging Waste Regulations and are therefore opening themselves up to the possibility of prosecution, fines and backdated payments.

Biggest NZ vintage

Published: 23 July, 2008

New Zealand has celebrated its largest-ever vintage - 185,000 tonnes with predictions of area under vine rising from 22,000 hectares to 30,000 by 2007/8 and a 300,000 tonne vintage by 2010/11.

Duboeuf likely to appeal over blending conviction

Published: 23 July, 2008

Beaujolais producer Georges Duboeuf and his UK agent Berkmann Wine Cellars continue to stand defiant after the court ruling on 4 July 2006 which fined Duboeuf 30,000 (21,000) for illegally blending over 200,000 hectolitres of wine, mixing grapes from different appellations.

Transports of Delight

Published: 23 July, 2008

There are so many ways to answer this question that it is a struggle to know where to begin. But let's start with the most animal instinct of all: self-preservation. And let's start not with consumers, but with retailers.

New from Boschendal

Published: 23 July, 2008

South African wine producer Boschendal has introduced a new range of premium wines for the off-trade made up of three single varietals and two dual varietals.

Edrington enjoys profits boost

Published: 23 July, 2008

The Edrington Group has revealed a growth in both group turnover (up 3.7% to 263.4 million) and operating profits
(up 6.5% to 71.9 million) following the recent announcement of its financial results for the year ending 31 March.

Simplicity the key for wine closures

Published: 23 July, 2008

The most important feature of a wine closure is the ease of use, a new survey has shown. The survey, conducted by Skalli & Rein in May, and featuring 1,000 responses from 55 countries, showed that simplicity' was the key feature of any wine closure.

Languedoc against vine pull

Published: 23 July, 2008

The director general of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL) has come out against the European Commission's proposals to uproot 400,000 hectares of vineyards over the next five years (see Harpers, 31 June).