One third of wines in clear glass bottles are light damaged, says Wotwine

Shoppers should take care when buying wine in clear glass bottles, says Wotwine, after 35% of wines in clear glass out of the 6,000 wines it sampled in the last two years exhibited signs of damage from light.

Sparkling wine is top performing grocery category at Christmas

Sparkling wine was the top-performing grocery category in the supermarkets for the six weeks of Christmas growing by £25.4 million on the previous year.

Wine sales hit hardest by Scottish multibuy ban

Since Scotland introduced a ban on multi-buy alcohol deals in the off-trade in October 2011, wine sales have been hardest hit, dropping 4.6% in the year following implementation.

Retailers need to eradicate code breaking measures warns Grocery Code Adjudicator

Major grocery retailers radically need to change the way they work with suppliers and ensure their trading practices in no way encourage members of staff to break the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.

Direct Wines appoints David Thatcher as group ceo as Simon McMurtrie steps down

Simon McMurtrie, Direct Wines group chief executive, is stepping down later this month to act as chairman for a number of businesses, with current UK managing director David Thatcher replacing him.

2014 Review and Hopes and Fears for 2015: Doug Wood of WoodWinters

Doug Wood, owner of Scottish independent merchant WoodWinters, lets off steam about supermarkets, credit control and 'parasitic internet-only' retailers, while looking forward to lots of Christmas presents from staff.

2014 Review and Hopes and Fears for 2015: John McLaren

John McLaren, UK director of the Wine Institute of California, on how the UK has changed to become a fresh land of opportunity for Californian producers, how it's in a 'holding pattern' with grocers, and why he 'may scream' if he's told to 'engage with consumers' again.

Video: 2014's Wine Vision conference highlights

November's Wine Vision conference brought together the great and the good of the wine world - and focused on everything from how the brain ventriloquises taste to the need to "drag more consumers into the category".

2014 Review and Hopes and Fears for 2015: Australian Vintage's Julian Dyer

Julian Dyer, general manager for UK & Europe at Australian Vintage, talks about McGuigan breaking into the Top 5 global wine brands in the UK, consolidation in the supply sector, and why he's back the WSTA's Drop the Duty campaign.

2014 Review and Hopes and Fears for 2015: Morrisons Mark Jarman

Mark Jarman, head of wine operations at Morrisons, relives the retailer's award-winning year and predicts further success for sherry and South American wines.

Drinks suppliers: Last chance to rate major retailers in our survey

2014 saw the drinks supply sector rocked by news of Tesco's accounting practices, and the subsequent suspension of the supermarket's BWS chief brought the scandal closer to home. We would like to find out how suppliers rate retailers across the board. 

Harpers.co.uk's 10 most popular stories of 2014

The most popular stories on Harpers.co.uk throughout 2014 cover everything from TescoGate to Bordeaux 2013 to BrewDog and Bibendum PLB.

Fresh inquiry into Tesco accounts as suppliers come under spotlight

Prosecco sales rocket while still wine lags

Off-trade alcohol sales have risen 2.4% to £14 billion, with volumes up 0.8% - and Italian sparkler Prosecco has seen the most stunning increase of all, with values up 55% throughout 2014.

Harpers launches March for Independents conference and campaign to support merchants

In a bid to put the spotlight firmly on the independent merchant sector Harpers is to launch a campaign in the new year designed to highlight the issues facing retailers which will build up to a major independent merchant conference in London on March 3.

Tesco accused of 'blunderbuss' approach in scrapping supplier fees

Tesco's move to scrap supplier fees and instead focus on getting the lowest prices upfront has been greeted with scepticism by leading consultants who describe is as "old-fashioned" and taking a "blunderbuss approach".

Price wars saved UK shoppers £182m in last three months, says Kantar

While the grocery market has returned to very slight growth, real grocery deflation, which has seen prices fall by 0.7% versus last year, equates to savings of £182 million for consumers in the last three months, according to Kantar. 

Still time to test your knowledge and take the Harpers Quizmas Quiz Challenge!

There has been a lot going on over the last 12 months and it can be hard to keep up with the latest news, views and opinions in the UK wine and spirits sector. So why not find out how much you remember or what caught your attention in 2014 by taking part in our fun Harpers Quizmas Quiz Challenge.

Town centres 'hollowing out' over lack of local plans

Instil Drinks appoints new MD and brings PLB beer portfolio under its wing

Bibendum PLB's beer and niche spirits trading arm Instil Drinks Company has incorporated PLB's extensive beer range into its portfolio, including its flagship Estrella Galicia.