The week that was

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 02 August, 2018

In case you missed some of the headlines this week on harpers.co.uk, here’s a review of the top online news, analysis, opinions and features.

Top stories: Looking to the future of the industry is a major part of our remit here at Harpers.

But the future seemed closer and more pressing than ever this week following Bibendum’s southern hemisphere report, which concluded that South Africa suffered one its most difficult harvests ever in 2018.

Such reports, where the tangible effects of climate change can be seen wreaking havoc in vineyards, was given further credence by a leadership summit on climate change attended by none other than Barack Obama.

Harpers editor Andrew Catchpole attended the summit in Oporto, where the “inconvenient truth” of climate change was debated with sponsorship from Taylor’s Port owners The Fladgate Partnership.

“Mass mobilisation, and not just rely[ing] on the experts at the top,” is paramount said the former POTUS and Nobel Peace Prize winner, if industries – both agricultural and non-agricultural – can hope to slow global warming by cutting down on pollution.

Looking at both the long and short term, Berry Bros. & Rudd chief executive Dan Jago talked about the need to promote the industry as a serious career decision, rather than a lifestyle choice.

And we continued our “Looking ahead” web series with Neil Bruce at Fuller’s and The Oxford Wine Company’s Ted Sandbach.

The series, which will continue to run throughout August, is your weather forecast for the second half of 2018, looking out for main clouds and sunny spells, challenges and opportunities that are likely to affect the trade.

Analysis and Insights: The Climate Change Leadership Porto Summit not only aimed to highlight the impact of climate change – it was a call to action for trade worldwide.

The event was the platform on which Adrian Bridge, chief executive of The Fladgate Partnership chose to launch an ambitious new initiative, the Porto Protocol.

Find out more about how this far-reaching charter is asking industries – starting with wine but aiming to branch outwards – to proceed with leadership and action, not just words.

Elsewhere, we looked at the re-emerging regions which have fallen out of vogue in recent years but are now re-gaining their kudos.

We turned to the independent on- and off-trades for the lowdown on Cava, where requests for own-label are on the rise.

And far from suffering from its mass-market appeal, signs show that Malbec, Argentina’s flagship, is heading for the next level.

People and Opinion: Should winemaking be ruled by the head or the heart?

There is a fine line between determined passion and romanticism, argues Tim Atkin MW in his latest column.

And we concluded our hybrid-focused meet the buyer series with Gregory Andrews and Arancha Lopez, who gave us the lowdown on how they juggle retail and in-house hospitality.

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