People & Opinion - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Buyer’s Spotlight: Beyond Primitivo

Published: 15 August, 2024

Jason Millar considers the future stars of Puglia on a trip to Radici del Sud.

67 Pall Mall aims for world domination

Published: 13 August, 2024

67 Pall Mall’s Grant Ashton shares his ambitious expansion plans for his swish wine clubs with Andrew Catchpole.

Tim Atkin MW: Farewell to Fiona Beckett

Published: 08 August, 2024

Writing a weekly column about wine for a national newspaper isn’t easy. I’ve been there, done that, for 21 years. Keeping each article fresh is challenging. Some journalists don’t bother, but Fiona Beckett did. That’s why I was sad to read she was retiring from The Guardian after 14 years in the post. Fiona always tried to say something new, to encourage her readers to experiment and trade up.

Soapbox: Miles Beale's hope for the future

Published: 06 August, 2024

Wine & Spirit Trade Association CEO Miles Beale shares his optimism that the new government will listen to the trade.

Five minutes with Luca Marrone

Published: 30 July, 2024

Luca Marrone, chief winemaker for Grattamacco, discusses the journey of Bolgheri Superiore from 1991 to 2021, focusing on its balance of innovation and tradition.

Producer Q&A: Peter Gago, Penfolds

Published: 23 July, 2024

With Penfolds celebrating its 180th anniversary this year, chief winemaker Peter Gago talks exclusively to Jo Gilbert about the iconic wine producer’s past, present and future.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is a key marketing tool hiding in plain sight?

Published: 17 July, 2024

During the 1990’s my business sold millions of bottles of great value Hungarian wines to the UK’s supermarkets. The wines were made under the guidance of a young Australian winemaker whose hands on approach ensured they bristled with ripe fruit flavours. Retailing at the equivalent of £6-£8 at today’s prices they went down a storm in the high-volume part of the burgeoning wine market.

Buyer’s Spotlight: Fine rosé

Published: 16 July, 2024

Jason Millar gets serious about the upper end of a popular category.

Soapbox: Storytelling and self-sabotage in the wine industry

Published: 09 July, 2024

Ben Franks, co-founder of The Canned Wine Co on how the trade could be attracting talent and investment to give wine a much-needed boost.

Profile: H&K Wine Agencies goes for Phoenician flavour

Published: 04 July, 2024

New business H&K Wine Agencies is building a portfolio from along the ancient Phoenician trade routes. Andrew Catchpole has an exclusive chat about their plans.

Guy Woodward: English wine is facing a dilemma

Published: 02 July, 2024

Last month’s English Wine Week kicked off with two high-profile but contrasting events. First, the august members’ club 67 Pall Mall held a glitzy industry lunch for producers, trade and media. Nineteen different English wines were poured

Five minutes with Arthur Ng, Vinum Eurus

Published: 27 June, 2024

Andrew Catchpole meets a boutique importer of high-quality Chinese wines which could change perception of this country’s winemaking abilities.

Producer Q&A: Marchese Lamberto Frescobaldi, Marchesi Frescobaldi

Published: 25 June, 2024

The Italian wine company has been working on a unique rehabilitation programme for inmates of Gorgona prison. By James Bayley.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Are we getting the most from our marketing spend?

Published: 24 June, 2024

I like to consider myself an open minded, flexible kind of guy. But when I ran businesses I could sense the shutters coming down every time we had a management discussion about how much to spend on marketing.

Buyer’s Spotlight: The field blend

Published: 20 June, 2024

Jason Millar flags the joy of the unknown in a post-varietal world.

Profile: Vineyard Cellars talks taking stock at Stockcross

Published: 18 June, 2024

With a new shop opening at Vineyard Cellars, Joe Rubin-Broad is adding yet more strings to his bow.

Tim Akin MW: Playing for laughs

Published: 13 June, 2024

At first sight, it looked like a PR disaster. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was filmed falling off a paddleboard into Lake Windermere five times. He’s a middle-aged bloke with a paunch and no sense of balance. Politicians do all sorts of silly things by mistake – members of the public can ambush them too – but Sir Ed’s aquatic pratfall was deliberate. He’s done a number of similar things campaigning for July’s general election.

Soapbox: Pushing back on neo-Prohibition

Published: 11 June, 2024

Tony Edwards decries the ‘relentless official demonisation of alcohol’, which is at odds with much medical evidence.

Five minutes with Pablo Vega Puyol, Morandé Wine Group

Published: 04 June, 2024

Andrew Catchpole asks Pablo Vega Puyol, people & sustainability manager at Morandé Wine Group, why waste management is important and how smaller producers can best implement their own programme.

Producer Q&A: Antonio Capaldo, Feudi Di San Gregorio

Published: 28 May, 2024

Campania icon Feudi di San Gregorio’s old vine project has landed the 2024 Old Vine Hero Award for Research. Jason Millar catches up with the estate’s president to find out more.