Despite a lingering sadness at the early retirement (due to ill health) of Wines from Spain (WfS) director Graham Hines, the trade members at last week's generic tasting were firmly focused on the future.
Read more...Harpers' deputy editor, David Williams, won the Feature Writer of the Year Award at last week's Britvic Business Food and Drink Journalist of the Year Awards.
Read more...Former Oddbins boss and the current managing director of United Wineries, Richard Macadam, has been named chairman of the newly formed Spanish Wine Action Group (SWAG).
Read more...More Port houses have declared the 2003 vintage.
Read more...How did you get into the wine business?
A friend of mine used to ship Peugeot cars to East Africa, and the only wine that he drank was Beaujolais. I trained as an engineer at Loughborough and went to Peugeot in Sochaux, on the Swiss border, not far from Alsace. I then joined Lotus, but it was the time of the three-day week, and it was all pretty grim. We used to sit in our overcoats shivering in the winter because there was no fuel. At that stage there was very little future in the motor industry that I could see, so I decided to start my own business.
Myliko Wines has entered into a joint venture with South African producer Tinus Broodryk.
Read more...The Foster's Group looks set to take over Southcorp, following acceptances by the majority of the Southcorp board of the improved A$4.26 per share offer.
Read more...Pernod Ricard-distributed Cuban rum Havana Club is launching its first-ever UK consumer advertising and sponsorship campaign with an investment of 1.75 million.
Read more...Logistics company Octavian has been awarded a five-year contract to handle the entire portfolio of Percy Fox and Justerini & Brooks across the UK.
Read more...The Co-op wine-buying team is stepping up its offering of Fair Trade wines.
Read more...Quentin Rappoport will leave his position as director of the WSA, as previously reported in Harpers, at the end of April.
Read more...Following the recent purchase of the Normans stable of brands and winery, Cockatoo Ridge Wines has confirmed that distribution of the wines (which includes NXG) will stay with Brand Phoenix in the UK.
Read more...Kedem Europe Ltd is a subsidiary of The Royal Wine Corporation, a New York-based company that has the largest international selection of kosher wines in the world and is responsible for 80-90% of kosher wine sales in the US and 50-60% of kosher wine sales in the UK. Joseph Sandler joined the The Royal Wine Corporation 11 years ago to launch Kedem Wines Europe Ltd. This year the eight-day Jewish festival of Passover starts on 23 April.
Read more...E&J Gallo has announced a number of personnel developments within its European division following the sudden departure of vice president general manager, Europe, Tamara Minick-Scokalo.
Read more...Leading independent Berry Brothers & Rudd is set to double its presence at Heathrow Airport by adding new stores at Terminals 1 and 2 this summer.
Read more...The Wine Trade Action Group (WTAG) has endorsed the proposed restructuring of the Wine & Spirit Association (WSA). Six WTAG members will constitute 50% of the new interim executive board, although members of WTAG have decided to continue to meet.
Read more...Sainsbury's, the UK's third-largest retailer and the original pioneer of supermarket wines, is also looking to reduce the number of wines it offers by up to 10%.
Read more...Graham Cranswick-Smith, founder of Cranswick Premium Wines, has joined forces with Kingston Estate Wines to form a new distribution company, Kingston Wine Agencies.
Read more...The planting of new vineyards in the Chianti Classico zone is marring the landscape and reducing the agricultural diversity of the region, according to Consorzio del Marche Storico Chianti Classico president Giovanni Ricasoli-Firidolfi.
Read more...Thierry's boss Peter Darbyshire is running the London Marathon on 17 April for a South African charity that aims to help disadvantaged children with special educational needs and those whose lives are adversely affected by alcohol.
Read more...
