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The week that was

Top stories: It’s September, which means the school run starts again, the roads get busier and autumn tastings are well underway as businesses renew their focus for the second half of the year, and – dare we say it – Christmas.

And this week, Harpers has been forging ahead with the ‘back to school mentality’ to bring you our definitive list of the UK’s 50 Top Wholesalers 2018.

As we point out in our piece, drinks wholesalers are all too often the unsung heroes of the supply chain.

Heading into Christmas, these businesses will be working behind the scenes, busy as elves, to drive forward the supply of quality wines, beers and spirits in the UK’s shops, bars and restaurants.

So please share and help us celebrate these fantastic businesses, who work alongside many others out there – and who knows, we might see them on next year’s list.

• Top 50 Wholesalers
• Hype over biodynamics reaching ludicrous levels, says viticulturist
• Bibendum’s Irish operations transfer to Walker & Wodehouse in C&C shake-up
• The Wine Society appoints new CEO
• Ten new Masters of Wine announced
• Chapel Down signs lease for new site to become ‘largest vineyard’ in England 
• Nicolas Feuillatte appoints Castelnau as part of on-trade UK strategy

Analysis and Insights: This week we turned our attention to the topic of sustainability – an increasingly pressing conundrum for the wine industry which moves vast quantities of product around the globe.

Andrew Catchpole looked at how the saturated casual dining market is faring amid high street pressures and the teetering of one of its stalwarts – the now bailed out – Gaucho.

And we looked at how companies are becoming more creative when it comes to sourcing grapes outside their expected country of origin.

As “somewhereness” and regionality becomes more of a focus for producers – in Rioja for example – we asked, do consumers really care?

• The rise of "source anywhere" wines
• As prominent restaurant chains continue to hit the wall, Andrew Catchpole looks at the impact on smaller operators
• Green logistics

People and Opinion: Argentina is on the ropes again.

The country has seen widespread economic volatility since 2001 when the economy suffered a spectacular collapse, but inflation is back up at 30% - making the business of producing and exporting wine more expensive.

But the good news, says Tim Atkin MW in his latest column, is that it looks like Argentina has moved out of the world’s bulk wine bargain basement once and for all, leaving this country to focus on what it’s good at – making wines of quality.

Elsewhere, we took a trip to Lidl to discover more about the discounter’s France-focused Autumn Wine Tour.

• Tim Atkin MW: Critical times for Argentina
• Lidl consultants look ahead to the retailer's Autumn Wine Tour