In the last week of August there was more than a little flurry of activity for the emerging markets trading sector of Wall Street as the Argentinian peso collapsed yet again. Those in the UK and global wine trade tuned in to assess how this might affect the price and positioning of Argentina and its punter-pulling flagship Malbec.
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Despite being the second biggest spirits category in the UK, accounting for 21% of sales (Nielsen/CGA, year to June 2018), big opportunities exist for whisk(e)y if it can grow engagement with women and younger adults, who currently shy away from the category.
Speaking to Harpers in our August issue, Berry Bros & Rudd chief executive Dan Jago made a strong case for the trade to better promote the career opportunities that exist within. The trade itself, he argued, had done much to shift from being a lifestyle choice to a more dynamic, professional world, offering exciting and diverse opportunities for those who entered, backed by quality training.
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Thanks to gin’s unwaning popularity, on-trade operators are faced with a challenge when it comes to selecting from the plethora of new products and styles on offer. Clinton Cawood is here to help
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With the likes of an undetermined Brexit and poor 2017 harvest to deal with, how are independents coping? Lisa Riley reports
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Harpers unveiled the result of this year’s 50 Best Indies competition at a prestigious event held last night in the capital, with Vagabond Wines once again claiming the top spot followed by Oxford Wine Company and Berry Bros & Rudd.
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"Online sales are motoring ahead, while bricks and mortar stores struggle to withstand the domino effect taking down traditional retail.”
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Small, but perfectly formed, Austria’s winemaking fraternity continues to innovate, looking increasingly towards natural methods, as Darrel Joseph reports.
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Sicily’s ever more accomplished yet very individual wines are gaining ground. Andrew Catchpole reports
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In the lead-up to next month’s scheduled EU summit, Jo Gilbert sets out to discover what the trade really thinks of Brexit, how it has impacted business so far and what is yet to come
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As emerging players in Chile are shaking up the status quo, pushing its premium offer and reinvigorating the wine scene, Alistair Cooper asks if the UK is on board
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Introducing our 2018 ranking of the drinks wholesale businesses that are doing the most to influence, improve and drive forward the supply of quality wines, beers and spirits in the UK
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With the spiral of financial pressures currently bearing down on the trade, it’s no surprise that some companies are becoming more creative when it comes to sourcing grapes.
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With the upmarket, wine-focused Argentinian Gaucho Group and its offshoot Cau under administration, and the on-trade landscape littered with recent casualties including Prezzo, Carluccio’s, Jamie’s Italian and Byron Burger (to name just a few), it’s looking tough out there in the restaurant world.
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As Kermit the Frog famously noted in song, it’s not easy being green. For the wine trade the sentiment translates into the problem of how to be environmentally friendly in a business that involves moving vast quantities of product around the globe. In the UK off-trade, where the New World has the upper hand, for example, around 60% of all the wine consumed comes from the deep-sea shipping sources of Australia, the US, Chile, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand.
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Borough Wines is backing refillable technology for its green credentials as well as its contribution to quality. Lisa Riley reports on a system that’s gaining new ground
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Celebrated by critics but crippled by drought and low returns, South Africa rarely has an easy ride.
Few in the trade could have missed the ongoing challenges facing South Africa’s wine producers as the worst drought in 100 years continues to afflict the Cape. With the 2018 crop predicted to be down by 15% after two years of water shortage that almost saw Cape Town meet “day zero” and turn off its domestic supply, the harvest has been described by Bibendum’s South Africa buyer, Paul Meihuizen, as “the most challenging I have ever known”.
With so much attention to detail going into what’s inside the bottle, marketing and packaging innovation can sometimes be seen as an afterthought in the wine industry. But as new and more inventive technologies appear on the horizon, companies are now showing that smart packaging can be a vital tool in the ongoing battle of engaging consumers and decoding shopping habits.
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Angela Mount investigates how distributors and producers are shaping up to meet buyer demands as routes to market narrow.
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Countries such as Greece, Turkey, Hungary and Romania are no longer considered off-piste when it comes to winemaking. Justin Keay looks at what’s on offer
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