?The week that was: top news, Q&As and opinion on Harpers.co.uk

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, we have done a review of the top online news, Q&As, and opinion stories.

Brazilian wines are all set for mainstream distribution across the UK ahead of the World Cup

Wines of Brasil is looking to galvanise support for its wines in the UK on the back of this summer's World Cup with new marketing and promotional campaigns.

PLB takes its wines on the road to independents

Harpers has teamed up with national wine distributor PLB to run a special debate on the growth and opportunity in online retailing as part of its series of regional roadshows that is taking its wines to the independent trade in March.

Getting ready for SITT : Spring clean your wine list

Ahead of this month's SITT tastings, Erin Smith talks to key suppliers about how they hope to help independents give their range a boost

New single serve wine glasses prepare to ramp up UK distribution

Liv-ex boss says fine wine storage Vine could be 'game-changer'

Domaines Paul Mas acquires eighth vineyard in Languedoc

Villa Maria buys Hawkes Bay vineyard

Below cost ban means average bottle of wine must sell above £2.41

Bibendum to stop its annual tasting in favour of smaller channel specific events

Bibendum has no intention of ever running again the kind of large scale annual company tasting it has become so well known for in the trade and will instead run channel specific smaller events around the country.

California's drought could raise foreign wine imports to the US and bulk wine prices

With California in the midst of one the most severe droughts in its history, the shortfall in domestic wine supply in the US could see a rise in bulk wine prices and an increase in foregin wine imports. 

Natural wines don't need quirky category, argues Real Wine Fair founder

Oxford Wine Festival hopes to attract 3,000 consumers

Wine videos celebrate 20 years of South African democracy

New African importer looks to distribute premium European wine across the continent

Africa Wine Merchants, a new specialist wine importer based in Cape Town, is looking to bring premium European wines to key emerging markets across Africa.

Argentina, Chile and South Africa team up again at ProWein

Following their tasting tie up last September in London the generic bodies of Argentina, Chile and South Africa are teaming up again to present their wines under the banner of Wines of the Beautiful South at this year's Prowein trade fair in Dusseldorf in March.

Wines of Rioja to target on-trade in 2014

Copestick Murray latches on to World Cup fever with launch of Brazilian Moscato

Copestick Murray hopes to tap in to World Cup fever early with the launch of a new sparkling Moscato sourced direct from Brazil which is the latest brand in the award winning I Heart wine portfolio.

JW Filshill buys Lawrence McQueen Wine & Spirits

Sparkling wine grows 30% in 2013 for Matthew Clark