Start with a quote, is often the advice given when preparing for a presentation or seminar, and when it comes to design, there are lots to choose from. For example, Joe Sparano, graphic designer for American company Oxide Design Co, said: "Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent."
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Rum may not be generating quite the column inches when compared with the ongoing explosive growth of artisanal gins and it remains a minnow when compared with the volumes of vodka consumed in the UK.
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According to some leading UK independent wine merchants, the cost of wine to their businesses has increased by anything from 10% to 16% since June's European referendum vote, depending on supplier.
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SITT, the Specialist Importers Trade Tasting, which aims to give a platform to independent merchants and specialist importers is returning to the UK next month - this year as part of Harpers' own event portfolio.
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For decades, the very mention of the word Champagne conjured up almost mystical properties for UK consumers in the market for premium sparkling wine.
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The words of one well-established wine distributor resonate strongly in the current climate, particularly for those seeking the lure, however challenging, of large-scale distribution via supermarkets and on-trade buying groups.
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The acquisition of Bibendum-PLB for £60 million by Conviviality last May, perfectly poised to coincide with the London Wine Fair, caused a tsunami-scale reaction across the trade.
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Christmas appears to have arrived on time and with good cheer for many independent merchants, with an early survey of businesses suggesting that sales were generally comfortably up on last year's festive period.
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As we take our first steps into 2017, the industry brings with it the old battle of cork versus screwcap as the two closures continue their struggle for supremacy.
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If the people of a winemaking region impart an element of the local terroir then Lebanon surely offers up one of the most entrancing possible blends of culture, climate and place as a backdrop to its wines.
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Premium mixers caught up with premium spirits in 2016. Where to next?
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London may be the wine capital of the world, with arguably the best selection of wines available to buy in every bar, restaurant, shop and supermarket, up and down the country, yet the majority of staff that work in these places know little or nothing about what they're supposed to be selling.
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At home in the cooler regions of Wairarapa, Nelson, Marlborough, Waipara and Central Otago, Pinot Noir is New Zealand's most important red variety, representing 70% of all red plantings and 15.4% of New Zealand's total vineyard.
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January can be bleak for the trade, with the mix of diminished consumer spend, attempts to cut back on the booze and the ever-glorious weather conspiring against the will to go out and enjoy.
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As we've mentioned elsewhere in Harpers this month, we could be on the verge of the driest January on record. And no, we're not talking about the weather.
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In retail head offices across the country, buyers will be analysing this year's trading, investigating highs and lows, and providing the traditional Christmas post-mortems.
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Gone are the days when all the consumer had to choose between was a can on the supermarket shelf or cask ale from the pub. This has everything to do with the craft beer movement, which – fuelled by the flexibility and creativity afforded to small brewers, an explosion of flavours in hops from the New World and the proliferation of alternative formats – has taken not just the beer but the entire drinks industry by storm in recent years.
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No one doubts that the future for historic winery Chateau d'Yquem and for sweet Bordeaux's renowned 11 premier cru producers - and even the second crus in Sauternes and Barsac - looks good.
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The independent sector continues to carve its own footprint, increasingly punching above its weight
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2016 has had its highlights and, despite challanges along the way, the restaurant sector is in decent shape
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