Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Gallo doubles down on premium following 2024 slowdown

Published:  26 March, 2025

Californian specialist E&J Gallo is continuing to invest significantly in its luxury portfolio despite moderation headwinds coming thick and fast and the on-trade suffering in mature markets.

Read more...

Virgin Wines eyes profit growth surge to £100m

Published:  26 March, 2025

Virgin Wines, one of the UK’s leading online wine retailers, has announced a new growth strategy which aims to increase the company’s yearly revenue to £100m within five years. This would represent a substantial increase as the retailer's revenue for the 2024 financial year stood at £59m.

Read more...

Inaugural Mediterranean Wine Symposium promotes ‘oenological diversity’

Published:  26 March, 2025

Perelada castle in the heart of Emporda became host to a pan-European congress on Monday (24 March) as the first-ever Mediterranean Wine Symposium took place.

Read more...

Strength in numbers: Raising a glass at The CollectEve tasting

Published:  25 March, 2025

Ever wondered what’s the collective noun for a group of female-founded wine importers working across the UK? 

Read more...

Visits to UK wineries up 55% in boon for tourism

Published:  24 March, 2025

In 2023, 1.5 million visits were made to UK vineyards and wineries, up 55% on 2022. These visits provide vital support to UK estates, with wine tourism accounting for 25% of total winery income on average.

Read more...

Wages stagnate for hospitality

Published:  24 March, 2025

The latest Salary Survey from KAM paints a concerning picture for workers in the hospitality sector, as the number of those earning £30,000 or less per year increases for the second year in a row.

Read more...

Trends show millennials remain vital demographic for wine trade

Published:  24 March, 2025

A suite of consumer trends revealed by the IWSR shows that millennials, those born between 1980 and 1995, remain a key consumer demographic for the wine trade in the years to come.

Read more...

UKH: Narrow focus on growth leads to poor social outcomes

Published:  24 March, 2025

Analysis from UKHospitality’s (UKH) new Social Productivity Index highlights that the most economically productive sectors deliver the least social value. By contrast, sectors such as hospitality, are most effective at delivering growth more evenly across the country, ensuring social and geographic accessibility.

Read more...

Milestone Wines adds sommelier Marcello Colletti to London team

Published:  21 March, 2025

Lancashire–based importer Milestone Wines has added sommelier Marcello Colletti to its London on-trade team. The role will see Colletti head up restaurant sales within the M25.

Read more...

Friday Read: Charting Armit’s InVivo-backed ambitions

Published:  21 March, 2025

The annual Armit Wines portfolio tasting (pictured) aways brings a spot of vinous glamour to the busy London tasting calendar, following on from launch events for new vintages of the likes of 2023 Guidalberto and 2022 Sassicaia at various buzzing London restaurants for the lucky few. And, in addition to such highlights from its top Italian-leaning portfolio, this year the importer launched a new initiative in the form of what was modestly described as a ‘press lunch’, where various senior editors, writers and critics gathered to for a lively debate on how best to engage a younger generation with fine wines.

Read more...

Flat February for hospitality as consumer spending tightens

Published:  21 March, 2025

Britain’s leading restaurant, pub and bar groups delivered fractional like-for-like sales growth of just 0.1% in February, signalling a challenging start to 2025 for the sector as consumers continue to remain watchful of their disposable income.

Read more...

Wine Lister: English sparkling competes with Champagne in quality perception

Published:  21 March, 2025

A new report on English sparkling wine from Wine Lister, the fine wine consulting agency, shows that on average critics’ score the category 90.6, which compares favourably with sector-leading Champagne wines (90.8).

Read more...

Spain to focus on ‘hot topics’ for London and Manchester tastings

Published:  20 March, 2025

The Wines from Spain Annual Tasting 2025 has rolled out its programme of trend-focused guided and self-pour tastings ahead of next month’s events.

Read more...

‘Nonsensical’ EPR rules will cost millions, say hospitality businesses

Published:  20 March, 2025

Under the umbrella of UKHospitality (UKH), leading pub and hospitality businesses have written to Defra Secretary of State, Steve Reed, pushing back against a significant flaw in the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme.

Read more...

Torre de Oña unveils new 'vino de autor'

Published:  19 March, 2025

Leading Rioja winery Torre de Oña has released the inaugural vintage (2021) of its new flagship cuvée: El Camino.

Read more...

Meteorological phenomenon and economic headwinds dent consumer confidence

Published:  19 March, 2025

A new survey released by Lumina Intelligence suggests that a combination of inclement weather and financial pressures impacted on-trade visits in February 2025, although the pub sector enjoyed a relatively strong performance.

Read more...

Harpers Webinar: A Seat at the Table

Published:  19 March, 2025

Harpers latest sustainability-focused webinar, ‘A Seat at the Table – Elevating Voices in the Drinks Industry’, is to take place from 11am-12pm on Wednesday 23 April and is now open for registration.

Read more...

ProWein 2025 organisers bullish despite fall in visitors

Published:  19 March, 2025

Approximately 42,000 professionals from 128 countries travelled to Düsseldorf for the 2025 edition of ProWein, including influential buyers from the US, Japan, South Korea and China. Yet its closet rival, Wine Paris, welcomed 52,622 visitors this year, while its floorspace had ballooned by 80% compared to 2024 – a growing bête noire for organisers Messe Düsseldorf GmbH .

Read more...

South Africa celebrates vintage of 'exceptional freshness' as harvest gets underway

Published:  19 March, 2025

In stark contrast to the drought-ravaged vintages of previous years, South African producers are optimistic that 2025 will deliver wines of “exceptional fruit expression and freshness”, with winemakers and viticulturists reporting “outstanding quality across the board”.

Read more...

Nick Gillett: Are spirits brands still benefitting from premiumisation?

Published:  18 March, 2025

It was the second half of last year, when industry press started reporting that premiumisation was slowing. And as the UK economy has staggered into another year, with little promising sign that purse strings will loosen, has the trend of consumers ‘buying better’ finally disappeared altogether?

Read more...