Harpers Wine Stars opens to array of new countries

By Lisa Riley

Published: 07 January, 2019

Harpers Wine Stars is poised for further growth this year as the competition opens to an array of new countries.

The competition, which is owned by Harpers publisher Agile Media and judged by buyers for buyers, has this year been opened to Germany, Portugal and Austria, as well a selection of emerging countries, including Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Hungary, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

Countries returning to Harpers Wine Stars for a second installment include South Africa, Spain, France, USA, Australia, South America and New Zealand.

The expansion comes on the back of "the success" to date of the competition, which was launched in May 2016, said Harpers’ publisher Lee Sharkey.

“This trade focused competition really showcases the potential of each country by delving into wines from its recognised and established regions as well as more emerging areas and new DO’s. Not only is it practical in the way it is judged – a 360 view of each entry through its taste, price and design proposition, it is also revelatory for our buyer judges as they perhaps discover new exciting developments in the countries they are judging. We are pleased to say that Harpers Wine Stars has resulted in a raft of new listings for our entrants,” she said.

This year also marks Harpers Wine Stars’ first appearance at SITT Spring where a selection of 2018’s highest scoring wines will be available to taste.

In addition, May 2019 will see Wine Stars return to Olympia for a second year to announce the results of Harpers Wine Stars England 2019.

“With all that’s happening with English wine now, this year’s project is poised perfectly to portray England’s exciting and dynamic wine scene,” said Sharkey.

Further details on other Wine Star-led tastings, masterclasses and roundtable discussions, will continue to be announced over the course of 2019.

Harpers Wine Stars endeavours to showcase the best regional wines of each country, with a strong emphasis on the commercial viability of these wines in the UK market.

As with previous projects, themes and on-going trends will be highlighted, as well as seek to explore exciting new regions and innovative new wines that are currently making waves in their respective countries and beyond.

Entries will be opening this week for our first round of countries. If you would like to find out more please email marc.lanaway@agilemedia.co.uk.

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