Andrew Catchpole caught up with the team at the “fiercely independent” Fine Wines Direct to discuss their new agency business, as well as plans for expansion and diversification
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With time fast ticking, Liberty Wines director of insights & business development, Alex Linsley, shares his company’s deep concerns around the government alcohol duty review, which is under consultation until 30 January 2022.
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Harvest in Lebanon delivered phenomenal challenges this year, as Etienne Debbane, president and co-founder of IXSIR explains to Andrew Catchpole.
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Vanessa Cherruau, co-owner and winemaker at Château De Plaisance, picked an interesting time to take over 22ha of vineyards in Anjou’s prestigious Rochefort-sur-Loire region – home to the only Premier and Grand Cru in the Loire – in 2019, just before the pandemic and with a baby on the way. She speaks to Jo Gilbert about past and future, sweet and dry, and why being biodynamic isn’t ‘crazy’ at all.
Richard Horwell of Brand Relations says full and compulsory ingredient labelling on alcoholic drinks is essential for the longevity and transparency of the sector
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In case anyone missed it, Jeremy Clarkson has recently launched his own beer brand, Hawkstone. The lager is made with barley grown on his Cotswolds farm. Exposed to the workings of the supply chain, Clarkson was reportedly aghast at the difference between the £205 per tonne he received for his barley and the £580 paid by the brewers to the middleman.
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Complementing our seasonal online Bouncing Back series, passionate Hispanophile operator Owen Morgan gives Harpers the lowdown on how his business navigated 2021, his exciting new ventures and what 2022 might otherwise hold.
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Stepping up as MD of Lanchester’s wine division, Andrew Porton explains why he’s excited about the future and what The Wine Fusion brings to the party. Andrew Catchpole reports
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“People like to masturbate.” As first sentences go, this one certainly snares your attention. It’s not the only remarkable thing about Edward Slingerland’s new book Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced and Stumbled our Way to Civilization (£25, Little Brown, Spark). Nor is the author some ill-informed polemicist looking to generate a few headlines. Slingerland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia.
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Matt Hodgson, founder of English wine specialist Grape Britannia, says the time has arrived to look beyond fizz to the UK’s homegrown still gems.
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It really is hard to know what to believe these days. The digital world enables instant sharing of information across the globe, which seems good and democratic. Just about anyone can participate. But with it comes lower reliability and veracity of what is being communicated, making it easier to seed fake gospels claiming that two plus two equals five, or seven, or even nine. Perhaps what really matters is the extent to which people make decisions and take actions as a result.
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From straw building to solar power by way of highly sustainable viticulture, Australian winery Lethbridge’s driving force, Ray Nadeson, talks premium wines and primordial soup with Andrew Catchpole.
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There is finally an American and a female head bartender – the first in a hundred years – back at the helm of at The Savoy’s legendary haunt. Jo Gilbert talks to Shannon Tebay about following in the footsteps of bartending heavyweights and making the leap to the UK.
We hear from Richard Lloyd, general manager for European operations and supply chain at The Park, the hub of Accolade Wines’ European operations and an independent business in its own right, on how the industry can work together to overcome its supply chain difficulties
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A bullish Brett Fleming explains to Andrew Catchpole why Armit Wines is back with a bang, firmly focused on the high ground.
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A month or so ago, I attended two eye-catching, if very different, launches. Both were from Bibendum Wine: the UK debut of former Dom Pérignon chef de cave Richard Geoffroy’s sake; and an unorthodox new English sparkling wine, with the charming name Harlot.
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In association with DO Rueda
What is it about the style of Rueda that’s driven its popularity?
Jo Gilbert finds out more about the Accolade Mud House/Tesco Loop partnership via Caroline Thompson-Hill, managing director, Europe, at Accolade Wines.
From Craggy Range to Smith & Sheth, winemaker Steve Smith has long been a driving force on New Zealand’s winemaking scene. Always aiming ever higher, he fills Andrew Catchpole in on how it’s going.
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In association with Wines of Navarra
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