News - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Stevens Garnier to add major brand every six months

Published: 03 April, 2014

Stevens Garnier is on the look-out for major old world brands, and plans to boost its portfolio by adding one every six months.

En primeur: Château Gazin's €1 drop 'insufficient'

Published: 03 April, 2014

Bordeaux's Château Gazin released its en primeur price early Thursday, at €38 per bottle from the estate to wholesale merchants, a drop of €1 on the 2012 vintage.

Pressure on wine shipments mounts as US ports still deadlocked over contracts

Published: 03 April, 2014

Strike threats at western US sea ports are ongoing, with wine logistics experts predicting major problems for those who have not planned ahead.

Obituary: Seckford Agencies' Sue Whelan dies

Published: 02 April, 2014

Sue Whelan, sales manager at Seckford Agencies until her retirement in 2010, has lost her brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Bordeaux wine sales to UK grow 14% in 2013

Published: 02 April, 2014

Bordeaux wines have grown 14.2% by volume and 18.6% by value in the last year, according to figures collated by market research firm IRI.

Beautiful South Tasting scaled back

Published: 02 April, 2014

The Beautiful South Tasting, organised by the generic bodies representing South Africa, Chile and Argentina, is to scale back its 2014 event.

Chilean wine exports to UK fall by one third in 2013

Published: 02 April, 2014

The UK is still the second largest export market for Chilean wine, but volumes have plummeted by 34% in the last year, with value down 17%.

New Generation Wines to distribute Guerrieri Rizzardi wines

Published: 02 April, 2014

New Generation Wines has signed a deal to become Italy's Guerrieri Rizzardi's exclusive importer and agent in the UK.

En primeur: rapid campaign to unfold, but no demand

Published: 02 April, 2014

Following the surprising early release price of Pontet-Canet last week at €60-a-bottle - the same as 2012 - sources in Bordeaux say that the campaign will be very short, with many wines releasing prices by next week.

Have we made an (April) fool out of you?

Published: 01 April, 2014

Just in case you have not realised, but we thought it was only fair to own up and admit a couple of the stories on today's news feed are not quite what they seem.

Les Dauphins becomes a million bottle brand in the UK and around the world

Published: 01 April, 2014

Les Dauphins, the Rhone brand from Cellier des Dauphins, is now selling over a million bottles in the UK and a million bottles around the world as it continues to expand in to new countries.

Bees could help speed up the ageing of wine finds new research

Published: 01 April, 2014

Two of England's high profile Masters of Wine have announced a radical new method of accelerating the ageing of wine - with the help of a hive of bees.

MW students to be voted either "in" or "out" by final BBC Voice-style judging panel

Published: 01 April, 2014

Final year Masters of Wine students will have to face the wine trade's equivalent of the BBC's The Voice in order to stand a chance of being accepted in to the Institute of Masters of Wine.

Bordeaux university brutally honest over poor 2013 vintage

Published: 01 April, 2014

Bordeaux's 2013 vintage fails to meet any of the requirements for a fine red wine vintage, said Bordeaux University's Vine and Wine Science Institute in a brutally honest press release.

En primeur: will winemakers have 'pulled rabbit from hat'?

Published: 01 April, 2014

En primeur week is underway, with critics and buyers heading to Bordeaux to work out whether winemakers have managed to make "good wine in a difficult year".

?Chivas whisky's education programme drives growth

Published: 01 April, 2014

Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal has seen strong growth over the past year thanks to an education programme on blended whiskies

Heston Blumenthal to take Fat Duck and Dinner to Melbourne

Published: 31 March, 2014

Heston Blumenthal is to close his three Michelin star restaurant, the Fat Duck, and re-open it in Melbourne, Australia as part of a six-month deal with the Crown Melbourne Resort. When it returns to the UK it will be replaced by his other UK Michelin restaurant, Dinner.

Over 200 restaurants, bars and merchants back natural wine in April for Real Wine Fair

Published: 31 March, 2014

Natural and biodynamic wines are being included on over 200 wine lists and shelves of independent merchants throughout April as part of a nationwide promotion to bring attention to the Real Wine Fair that takes place in London on April 13-14.