So what do you think about whilst munching through your morning cornflakes? Well if you are anything like head of Diageo UK, Andrew Cowan, you would be thinking about all the out of the box ideas you might have for new drinks launches.
Read more...The suspension of disbelief - willing ourselves to be credulous is sometimes essential when we want to be entertained. When the entertainment is the launch of the 2002 vintage of Dom Pérignon Rosé in one of London's best small museums, we are easily persuaded to forego reality for a while.
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We Londoners are lucky. We can see screen legends on our West End stages, hear virtuoso musicians of every genre in our concert venues and look at Holbeins, Raphaels and Monets or the latest installations any day of the week. A steady flow of temporary exhibitions means everyone - yes everyone- can look at Gauguin, van Gogh or Brueghel. No, I am not sponsored by Boris or the Arts Council. I am just reminded how great it is to get to see, taste and experience originals. That's presumably why so many braved the weather for The Wine Barn's Annual Trade Tasting at the German House in Belgravia on Monday.
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I fancy myself an old hand at Bordeaux en primeur tastings. I'm used to gums, teeth and elbows feeling decidedly battle-scared after the assault of youthful tannins and overly-enthusiastic attendees chasing the last sip of Cheval Blanc or D'Yquem.
Read more...The last time I was wondering around Highgate Cemetery was in my more formative years when a trip to see Karl Marx's grave was the sort of thing you did on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
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If there was a documentary covering the main events in the UK wine trade in the last 12 months it might not be as fun to watch as the highlights of London 12 but it would be just as eventful.
Read more...Despite its youthful image, Virgin Wines is owned by wine retail longtimers, Tony and Barbara Laithwaite, as a subsidiary of Direct Wines. Andrew Baker is the head wine buyer. He said that when he started out, he was an "egotistical" buyer, seeking trade approval. Twelve years on, he now focuses on delivering a "spread of styles" striking a balance between safe, customer-friendly lines and more innovative offerings. As a trained winemaker, Baker is always keen to "push new styles, without shocking people".
Read more...When a company is old enough to have seen one recession already, it should know how to weather a second. Jascots geared up for the expected rise in business during the 2012 Olympics by offering 24/7 London delivery as just one example of proactive customer service. The predicted tourist boom during the summer may not have happened for everyone, but Jascots still delivers six days a week, using its own vans, offering the flexibility many small, on-trade customers need.
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Last month Tesco's chief executive, Philip Clarke, declared to the IGD's main convention of the year that it was vital the grocery industry "create a new spirit of partnership ... going much deeper and becoming much stronger than anything that has existed before". The reason? Well the pace of change is now so fast that retailers and suppliers have to be virtually sleeping with each other to make sure they get the best out of each other.
Bedecked in stripes, from suit to socks, Sandro Boscaini, president of Masi Agricola, was in town earlier this month to celebrate the launch of a hardback book about arguably the best-known wine from Valpolicella, from where he was born. 'Amarone - The Making of an Italian Wine Phenomenon' is written by British expat, Kate Singleton (who also collaborated on Wines of Sicily and The Golden Book of Chocolate). Six corks, one embossed, grace its cover.
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"My favourite wine is Rioja". It's a line I hear a lot. Despite the UK's frequent absence on Rioja's top five list of most important export markets, the British have had a long standing love affair with wines from this notoriously wealthy Spanish region.
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We've been told often enough over the years that we're nothing but a nation of shopkeepers. Well that adage needs updating to a nation of shoppers. When it comes to pushing the weekly trolley around the supermarket of going online, the Brits truly rule the waves.
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The speed in the collapse of WaverleyTBS should rightly send shockwaves around the industry. It is worrying enough that one of our biggest on-trade suppliers has gone bust, that no-one in the trade saw it coming until hours before it happened only goes to demonstrate the dangerous financial times we all live in.
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In contrast to the wettest British summer for a century, Piedmont enjoyed such a dry, sunny growing season that the harvest was completed much earlier than normal.
Read more...While the biennial Cape Wine trade fair in South Africa last month was another big success, a new exhibition that ran alongside it in the Cape Town Convention Centre enjoyed a sparkling debut. Vindaba, part of a long-term strategy to boost wine tourism, derives from the South African government's aim to gain promotion by 2020 to the travellers' Premier League - the top 20 global destinations.
Read more...It's not often that regional merchants come to London to show their wares, but a rather popular north-western player, Booths, showcased 100 wines from its wine range at the Saatchi Gallery's Mess Room on Friday afternoon.
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If you thought Aldi's wines were all cheap and cheerful, you might be surprised to find grand cru Champagne, a grand cru classé Margaux, 30 year old Tawny Port and a multi, medal-winning Tokaji in its Christmas Special range.
So why exactly is the Dirty Dozen Tasting the most exciting, least predictable and most hotly anticipated event within the crazy wine circus that London is in September?
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The beginning of August is supposed to herald the start of what our newspaper colleagues would call the Silly Season. A time when there is very little hard news around and our daily news feed is full of stories of escaped pigs, or retired policemen travelling around the country in a bath of baked beans. But the world of wine and spirits does not look ready for a summer holiday just yet.
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Being an independent retailer can, by definition, be a lonely place to be. Whilst being 100% responsible for your own business can bring great advantages it can also leave you exposed to making executive decisions you might not always be qualified or experienced enough to make.
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