Gaucho restaurant celebrates 21 years

Justin Knock MW predicts trusted wine brands will make a comeback in 2015

Justin Knock MW, one of the partners behind the recent acquisition of wine merchant Philglas & Swiggot, and a consulting winemaker for Encirc Wines, sees wine brands making a comeback with consumers, Italy facing potential supply problems and questions whether New Zealand can keep its momentum going as hot topics to watch in 2015.

Top indies and trade experts lined up for March for Independents conference

Leading sales, buying, finance, management, legal and employment specialists have been lined up to speak at Harpers dedicated conference for independent wine merchants in London on March 3.

Chief of the Week: Skin Côntact's Richard Hemming

Drum roll please for our Chief of the Week who is the man behind the wine industry's very own rock band, Skin Côntact, that has been brought together to not only bring some much needed entertainment for the drinks trade but to help raise money for Comic Relief.

Fever-Tree boosted by second half results up by nearly 50%

Fever-Tree, the premium mixer company, announced yesterday a strong financial performance in the second half of 2014, with sales expected to rise 43% and revenue to grow 49% to £34.7 million.

Top British importers and merchants unite to call for better prices from Bordeaux

Some of the biggest wine importers, distributors, brokers and retailers in the country, including Majestic, Berry Bros & Rudd and Farr Vintners, have written to Bordeaux producers to demand changes in pricing of wines being offered to the UK.

Former ITN and CNN correspondents in Wine Enthusiast's top 5

David Smith, the former ITN news correspondent turned winemaker, has received a massive vote of confidence for his Argentinian wine, SonVida, that only had its first vintage in 2007, by being named number four in the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Top100 wines of the year.

The Thinking Drinkers look to celebrate "legends of liquor" in new Soho show

The world of drinks has been blessed with some maverick and memorable figures over the years all of which will be celebrated as part of a new show by the Thinking Drinkers, otherwise known as drinks writers Tom Sandham and Ben McFarland.

Buckingham Schenk to ramp up on-trade focus with Argentinian wine brand

Buckingham Schenk is planning to ramp up its foothold on the on-trade with new Argentinian wine brand Phebus, sister brand of its star off-trade performer Vinalba.

Rémy Cointreau sales decline slows, shows signs of stabilising

Rémy Cointreau's sales are still declining based on its third quarter financial results, but falls are slowing signalling that the company may finally be stabilising following a Cognac crash that hit China.

Wine merchant Vagabond secures third site

Independent London wine merchant Vagabond has secured its third site - in Old Spitalfields Market - and is planning to ramp up fundraising to open two to three new stores per year.

New Zealand to hold first international conference celebrating Sauvignon Blanc in 2016

New Zealand is launching an international conference celebrating its flagship grape variety - Sauvignon Blanc - which will take place in Marlborough in February 2016.

On-trade drinkers unwilling to experiment

Eight out of 10 on-trade drinkers say they rarely or never try new alcoholic drinks - that's according to research from Canadean.

US wine industry facing 'unprecedented' third large harvest, says SVB

Silicon Valley Bank is forecasting an "unprecedented" third large harvest in a row for the US, and that 2015 will be the "breakout" year for fine wine, which will grow 14 to 18%.

Small distilleries back cut in duty campaign

Small distillers across the UK have come out in force in favour of a 2% cut in the rate of duty, which they maintain would boost growth in the industry.

Spain's wine exports jumped by 380m litres but revenues plummeted

Spain exported almost 380 million litres more wine in the first 11 months of 2014, but its revenues were down €93 million, as prices took a nose dive by 31 cents per litre.

Glenmorangie launches 'rare' grain whisky Tùsail

Glenmorangie has launched Tùsail whisky made from the rare and recently resurrected Maris Otter barley grain.

ProWein shakes up 2015 wine trade fair

ProWein 2015 is actively preparing visitors for changes to this year's show including new halls, the 'drinks of tomorrow'  show focusing on bar trends and the 'same but different' show which will look at innovative and creative trends in the drinks trade.

Champagne celebrates return to growth as sales hit €4.5 billion

Champagne shipments grew 1% by volume in 2014, with sales expected to exceed 307 million bottles and hit €4.5 billion.

Australia's premium wines drive exports to bounce back

Australian wine exports have grown 1.9% by value and volume to 700 million litres and $1.82 billion in 2014, with premium wines leading the charge.