News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Bibendum jumps on can bandwagon with own range

Published: 10 March, 2020

Bibendum has jumped on the canned wine bandwagon with the launch of a three-strong range named Small but Perfectly Formed.

LWF teams up with Chiswick Auctions to raise ‘big bucks’ for The Benevolent

Published: 10 March, 2020

London Wine Fair (LWF) has joined forces with Chiswick Auctions to host a live auction on-site at this year’s fair, with part of the proceeds donated to The Benevolent.

Hedonism launches ‘wine school’

Published: 09 March, 2020

Hedonism has added another string to its bow with the launch of the Hedonist Wine School - a series of ticketed wine tastings in an informal setting.

Last call on government to cut duty

Published: 09 March, 2020

A group of 14 MPs has made a last call to the government to cut duty ahead of Wednesday’s Budget.

Nyetimber and Plumpton join forces to develop winemakers of the future

Published: 09 March, 2020

Nyetimber is looking to help develop the next generation of wine industry leaders via a new placement scheme in conjunction with Plumpton College’s wine division.

Spiritual home of Rioja producers hit by coronavirus

Published: 09 March, 2020

Haro, the spiritual home of quality Rioja producers, has been hit by the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak as residents of the town in the heart of the wine region are told to stay at home.

Broadland launches multi-country brand

Published: 09 March, 2020

Broadland Drinks has launched amulti-country brand, No Ordinary, aimed at consumers who are looking for interesting wines but want the ease of exploring without time consuming research.

Yellow Tail and Casillero del Diablo continue dominance of global power list

Published: 09 March, 2020

Australia and Chile have once again topped Wine Intelligence’s list of the world’s power brands, with Yellow Tail and Casillero del Diablo holding onto their spots in first and second place for the third year in a row.

UK on-trade closures fall to lowest rate since 2018

Published: 09 March, 2020

Britain’s supply of restaurants, pubs, bars and other licensed premises fell by 1.8% in the 12 months to December 2019 - the lowest rate of year-on-year decline for nearly two years, according to the latest Growth Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners

ABS brings first Washington State agency onboard

Published: 09 March, 2020

Awin Barratt Siegel (ABS) has added its first Washington State winery to its stable in the shape of Kevin White Winery from Yakima Valley.

Fattorini steps down, with duty plea to Chancellor

Published: 06 March, 2020

Wine Show star Joe Fattorini has taken redundancy from his day job at Berry Bros. & Rudd, blaming onerous duty rises on wine for the demise of his role.

Jascots launches Fernando Mora MW’s first vintage

Published: 06 March, 2020

Jascots Wine Merchants has launched the first vintage (2016) from Fernando Mora MW’s ancient, remote, high-altitude ‘Grand Cru’ vineyard - El Jardín de Las Iguales.

The wines are a Garnacha Tinta from vines planted in 1918 and a Macabeo from the vineyards oldest vines – planted in 1898, with only a very limited amount available of each.

Founded in 2010, Bodegas Frontonio is the passion project lead by wine maker Fernando Mora MW who, along with his partners, saved the ancient vineyard from extinction, purchasing it just days before it was due to be pulled up.

The mission of Bodegas Frontonio is to “restore the pride of Aragon” - the little understood, ancient wine region between Rioja and Catalunya with Zaragoza at its centre.

“Fernando has made wines here that are already accepted to be of Grand Cru quality and the extent to which demand outstrips supply in this his first vintage is testament to that,” said Miles MacInnes, managing partner, Jascots.

“We’ve been working with Bodegas Frontonio since 2014 and it has been so exciting and rewarding to follow the rapid and remarkable progress it has made towards establishing itself as one of the most important and exciting wineries in Spain.”

Critial acclaim received for the wines before their UK launch includes Luis Guittierez of the Wine Advocate marking the 2016 Macabeo and Garnacha 94 and 95/100 respectively, remarking that “[these wines are] quite unique, they have discovered something really important here”, while Jancis Robinson MW gave the red 18.5/20 and talks of the wines as being “…extremely dramatic with so much personality…..really fine.”

Mora MW said: “It was amazing for me and my business partner to see the reaction of sommeliers in the UK to El Jardín de Las Iguales, London has many of the best somms in the world and to share these wines with them is the realization of a major ambition for us.

“Our goal as Bodegas Frontonio is to save the ancient vineyards of Aragon and restore pride to our home vineyards, we feel very proud to launch the wines here and our dream continues."

The next vintage is set to be released later this year depending on its ‘readiness’.

Hardys focuses new branding around “certainty in uncertain times”

Published: 06 March, 2020

Hardys has unveiled a new look for its global branding while also offering customers a 100% money back guarantee with the aim of becoming “a top 10 global power brand by 2025”.

Friday Read: Wine ecommerce - learning from China

Published: 06 March, 2020

China has become the world leader in wine ecommerce and there is much we could learn, writes Emilie Steckenborn, founder of the Bottled in China Podcast.

Bill’s taps CBD drinks trend with ‘mindful drinking' section

Published: 06 March, 2020

Bill's Restaurant & Bar has added a ‘mindful drinking’ section to its menu that features CBD-infused drinks.

Kingsland launches lower-calorie canned wine

Published: 06 March, 2020

Kingsland Drinks has launched a lower-calorie canned wine range tapping into two key trends.

Prowein 2020 cancelled

Published: 05 March, 2020

Prowein has been cancelled following the postponement of the event last Saturday due to the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

Hattingley Valley releases first still wines

Published: 05 March, 2020

Hattingley Valley is officially broadening its stable of wines beyond sparkling with two new still wines soon to be released as part of a stand-alone range.