Like much of the fortified wine market, 'British' fortified and made wine is in long-term decline. So, are producers and brand owners preparing to pull out of the category, or are they gearing up to fight back against increasing competition from new drink categories? Jack Hibberd takes a look at the sector
Read more...Are two gin-themed recent openings in London part of a new willingness to take mother's ruin seriously as a premium spirit? Or is the gin sector still more about commodity than connoisseurship? David Williams reports on the latest gin developments
Read more...As the wine trade's annual get-together settles into the second year at its new home at ExCeL, David Williams talks to organisers Andrew Evans and James Murray of Brintex about what's new for this year, and previews the product launches, events and tastings that will be pulling the punters to Docklands for the 2003 LIWSF
Read more...The English Wine Group plc recently defied lingering scepticism about the future of English wine to raise 500,000 and gain a listing on OFEX, the off exchange' for smaller companies. Christian Davis takes a tour around Kent, Sussex and Surrey to see how the big four producers are aiming to persuade the British to buy English
Read more...Chef, Windows Restaurant & Bar, London Hilton on Park Lane. Born and trained in France, chef Jacques Rolancy moved to the UK ten years ago to take over the reins at The Windows Restaurant and Bar in London. It has since won numerous awards, including three AA rosettes. Developing his cuisine lgre style of cooking, Rolancy himself has been awarded the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) award, his country's highest culinary accolade, becoming only the second chef working in the UK (after Michel Roux) to hold the award.
Read more...Organic wines are claiming more shelf space in the multiples, but is this higher profile driven by the rising quality of organic wines, or a result of retailers' opportunism? In the Christmas build-up the Harpers team tasted 80 organic wines from around the world, to gauge the variety and strength in depth of the organic sector
Read more...Proprietor & Chairman, The Goring Hotel, London. Third-generation hotelier George Goring was born at the Goring Hotel in 1938. He studied at the Swiss Hotel School and then worked in Germany at the Kur Hotel in Bad Neuenahr and the Vierjahreszeiten in Hamburg. On returning to England, he worked for British Transport Hotels before replacing his father at The Goring in 1962.
Read more...If Slovenia means anything to UK wine drinkers, it means Lutomer Laski Rizling. But as the former Yugoslav republic prepares to join the EU, that could be about to change. David Williams reports from a small country with big plans
Read more...The following is an edited transcript of the WSET Lecture delivered by Eduardo Chadwick, president of Via Errazuriz, on 3 March
Read more...Muscadet was hit hard by the British switch to New World wines during the 1990s but, as David Williams reports, quality initiatives and a region-wide shake-up of vineyards and wineries is starting to reverse the trend
Read more...It's almost 100 years since the Johnnie Walker logo first strode into our lives, in his top hat and breeches, and he remains an unmistakable symbol of Scotch whisky worldwide. Tom Bruce-Gardyne charts his journey
Read more...On October the 29th, some of the industries top Cabernet producers came together to debate"The Great Cabernet Conundrum". Watch video from the event.
Read more...After leaving the US for the Cte d'Or in the Sixties, Becky Wasserman set up shop first as a cooper and then as a broker, earning a dazzling reputation. Here, she talks to Margaret Rand about the peculiar problems of doing business in Burgundy and her run-in with the Mob.
Read more...Natural hazards and a low export profile are relatively moderate concerns for grape growers and winemakers on Santorini. For with young workers deserting viticulture for tourism, the island's vineyards are in danger of dying out with the older generation. Joanne Simon visits an historic wine island fighting for survival
Read more...The chill economic wind has been blowing through the portals of wine auction houses on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, many auctioneers report that revenues have been better than expected. John Stimpfig makes sense of the profit trends in the salerooms and tests the chill factor for 2003
Read more...Like its polar opposite, FABs, organic wine has been one of the drinks industry's biggest growth markets over the past decade. But can the boom survive a recession? David Williams assesses the current and future health of the UK's green wine scene
Read more...As 2003 gets underway, Jack Hibberd looks ahead to the year's key trade and consumer food and drink extravaganzas, from Birmingham to So Paulo
Read more...Is new product development the way forward for standard blended Scotch, or should the category be looking for clues in its most successful market - Spain? David Williams reports
Read more...Eric Appleby of Alcohol Concern believes that the British should cut their alcohol consumption by 50%. The WSA's Quentin Rappoport is adamant that sensible drinkers are being stigmatised and that alcohol can be life-enhancing. Here, they go head-to-head on alcohol misuse in the UK and the trade's responsibilities.
Read more...The Holy Grail for wine producers is to convince the elusive generations X and Y to cast aside their PPSs and PPLs and pick up a bottle of wine. But new research suggests that the majority of this age group feel they will be drinking more wine in the future anyway. So are wine marketeers wasting their time? Jack Hibberd investigates
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