Growth spots in the global spirits industry are offering an encouraging counter-picture to the moribund health of wine sales – although the category is having to come to grips with challenges impacting long-term premiumisation trends and the instability of major markets such as China.
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In light of rum’s recent success, the subject of rhum agricole, the category’s quieter and less well-known cousin (at least outside La Francophonie), has swung back into the conversation at Harpers. Made minus the molasses, rhum agricole offers up a fresh, grassy and slightly green flavour from its sugarcane juice-only recipe. This in turn offers an undeniable point of difference to the traditional molasses-based rums which make up 98% of the world’s production, according to statistics from Markwide Research and its Global Rhum Agricole Market report.
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One of the more fascinating events of the year so far was the inaugural Mediterranean Wine Symposium, convened at the Perelada estate in Emporda, where an ambitious programme of presentations sought to define what it means to be a ‘Mediterranean’ wine producer and whether this could mean more than just being a ‘state of mind’.
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Achieving B Corp status is all the rage in the drinks trade today as companies look to show off their sustainability credentials.
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Becoming the drinks industry’s answer to the Michelin Guide is no easy feat. As Hannah Sharman-Cox, co-founder of The Pinnacle Guide, says: “It’s one of those things where other people have said ‘I had that idea too’. But no one has actually done it, have they?”
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Reserve Wines’ willingness to keep things fresh and adapt in an ever-evolving wine market has meant accolades and praise have continued to come the Manchester-based merchant’s way. When one digs a little deeper, decoding why the Harpers 50 Best Indies 2025 winner has continued to succeed is fairly simple.
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Importers face a fine balancing act heading into 2025, continuing to present a diverse, well-priced portfolio offer while being beset by the cost shocks of duty rises, EPR and National Insurance rises, to name just a few. For specialist importers of South American wine navigating this puzzle can feel notably headache-inducing, particularly because naturally high-abv wines such as Argentinian Malbecs will be harder hit by duty changes. This is a challenge as these wines’ very taste and style can rely upon this higher alcohol content.
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For decades, Chile has been synonymous with value-for-money wines, pushing out reliable, well-structured reds and crisp whites that have found homes on shelves across the world. But at the heart of this wildly diverse country is one of the more impressive stories of terroir exploration to emerge in the 21st and latter 20th century.
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“I always get asked ‘What comes after Malbec?’ and my response is always: ‘More Malbec!’”. Santiago Achával’s quip has become a familiar refrain in Argentina’s wine circles, and many other winemakers share a similar sentiment. While Argentina produces a wide array of grape varieties, Malbec remains its undisputed flagship, both in vineyard plantings and global reputation.
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Argentina’s economic situation often presents a challenge for those producing and exporting wine – and the current climate, following yet more twists and turns, remains as complex and convoluted as ever. Following the marked devaluation of the peso in December 2023 as the new far-right president Javier Milei swept to power on a ticket of dramatic economic reform, a turbulent year was followed by the re-election of Trump in Argentina’s biggest export market, which may now help rather than hinder the industry.
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Argentina: Premium ambitions
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Rum officially broke the £1bn sales barrier in the UK in 2018, just one year after gin, while riding high on a reputation for being a bartending favourite and the high-energy drink that takes partying to the next level.
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It’s a bleak early February morning and Tim Atkin’s annual Best of Rioja trade tasting is packed. Visitors are keen to see what’s new in Spain’s best-known and maybe most-changed wine region, with different styles and white wines showing alongside the traditional oak-aged ones that made this region famous. With the DO celebrating its centenary, Rioja Wine UK has unveiled plans for a big consumer event this summer.
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Picking a wine can be difficult; it can depend on everything from mood to the weather. But what if there was a way around this internal battle?
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What do you think is the biggest-selling whisky in the world? Johnnie Walker? Jack Daniel’s? Nope. It is in fact Officer’s Choice, an Indian whisky unable to be sold as whisky in the UK or EU because it contains molasses spirit. However, India is now producing increasingly sophisticated single malts with brands like Rampur, Indri and Paul John setting their sights on the British market.
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Thanks to “Trump 2.0, tariffs are coming. It’s not a matter of if, but when”, WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said at a standout Wine Paris conference, where leading industry figures gathered to discuss how to manage and offset mounting geopolitical tensions and trade wars on the global wine trade.
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Rosé expert Elizabeth Gabay MW makes the case for serious styles to sit alongside reds and whites at the top table.
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An emerging global data picture courtesy of the IWSR shows that wine sales are diverging from that of spirits, beer and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, as alcohol spend around the world continues to lag behind disposable income.
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The Extended Producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme is yet another headwind in a now long line of challenges facing the UK drinks trade, with its implementation already well under way, but – some would say predictably – dogged by a lack of clarity and various unknowns.
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As the usual business headwinds seemingly turn to a howling gale, we once again
ask the independent merchants’ sector for their take on what the year ahead holds.
