An amped up Tom Platt, CEO of Liberty Wines, was keen to share his optimism this week as the trade steams ahead into the last months of 2024, with a particular focus on a handful of new Italian wines and a “significantly developed” Spain category striking a chord with visitors at Tuesday's (17 September) autumn tasting.
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The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has reported a 15% increase in global candidates for its Level 4 Diploma in Wines.
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Campari's CEO, Matteo Fantacchiotti, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday (18 September) after just five months in charge, with the company attributing his departure to personal reasons.
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The UK pub and bar sector is set for modest growth in 2024, with a forecasted 1.5% rise in value, according to Lumina Intelligence’s Operator Data Index.
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Liberty Wines has been appointed as the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for Gunderloch, one of the Rheinhessen’s most respected producers.
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Yesterday (17 September), Berkmann hosted a distinguished wine tasting event at Woods Quay, featuring four esteemed Australian wineries. The event, Berkmann's first tasting “not on dry land,” marked a significant moment for the supplier, as it brought together four leading winemakers in a collaborative, flighted tasting by grape variety. This gathering exemplified the spirit of Australia’s premium wine industry, challenging the misconception that Australian wine is only synonymous with mass-produced, budget-friendly offerings.
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Yapp Brothers showed the full breadth of its portfolio at 67 Pall Mall this week, just months after a major move to new premises which not only doubled the size of its HQ, but has trebled the business’s capacity.
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North South Wines has announced the addition of Agricoltori del Chianti Geografico to its portfolio. The wines, part of the Piccini family estates, will arrive in the UK in late September and feature at the Grapest Hits tastings in London and Manchester.
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Cramele Recaș, Romania’s largest wine producer, has announced an €11m investment plan to expand its operations and increase production to 50 million bottles per year, with a target turnover of €100m within the next three to five years.
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Bolle has announced the successful closure of a £800,000 private funding round, completed in just three weeks. The company, which operates in both the UK and California, uses secondary fermentation to make its wine, despite being a zero-alcohol wine.
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Hospitality and leisure businesses face a fourfold increase in their bills, potentially adding tens of thousands of pounds to costs per venue, if business rates relief ends on 31 March.
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The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) has announced a new partnership with Areni Global, an independent think tank dedicated to the future of fine wine, which will see the two organisations collaborate on a range of initiatives aimed at advancing excellence and learning within the global wine community.
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Specialist wine importer, Hallgarten & Novum Wines, is continuing the steady expansion of its French portfolio with the addition of Champagne Palmer. Available immediately to the UK hospitality and retail sectors, the new addition is part of a significant business expansion plans in 2024 to boost Hallgarten’s trade offer, with a host of new additions being announced in recent weeks.
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UK wine importer Alliance Wine has acquired London-based old-world wine specialist H2Vin, aiming to merge their businesses in the coming months, Harpers can exclusively reveal.
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In recent years, Scotland has faced a worsening crisis of alcohol-related harm, as the number of deaths linked to alcohol consumption has surged. Despite being the first country in the world to introduce a Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) policy in 2018, the strategy has not achieved the expected results. Coupled with the Scottish government’s controversial plans to ban alcohol advertising, these initiatives have sparked a heated debate on the effectiveness of policy-driven approaches to reducing alcohol abuse.
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The chef and sommelier teams selected to compete in the 2024 UK finals of Copa Jerez have been revealed. The finalists are: Chef Will Stoyle and sommelier Zoé Donadio from the Silo x Apricity collaboration, Chef Stephen James Thompson and sommelier Cong Cong Bo from The Foraging Chef x Amphora Cambridge, and chef Lily Stock with sommelier Yuri Humphreys from Raffles London at the OWO.
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Back for another two days across London and Manchester, SITT Autumn promises to deliver another actioned packed event, with 50 exhibitors showcasing their wines and masterclasses presented by Dr Jamie Goode, Sarah Abbott MW and Isa Bal MS.
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The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has revealed a significant drop in exports, with a decline of 18% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The value of exports in H1 2024 fell to £2.1bn, while the volume dropped by 10.2%, equating to 566 million 70cl bottles, or 36 bottles per second. This contrasts with 40 bottles per second in the first half of 2023.
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A new review of alcohol labelling in the UK has shown almost universal compliance with the Portman Group’s voluntary health labelling guidelines.
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The number of job vacancies in the UK’s hospitality sector has dropped below 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). There are currently 98,000 vacancies in food service and accommodation, marking a reduction on recent years. However, the number remains 5,000 higher than pre-pandemic levels of 93,000.
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