People & Opinion - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Q&A: Nick Bethell, Snobby's

Published: 24 September, 2019

Andrew Catchpole noses around Snobby’s, Bristol’s new gastronomic oasis offering a distinctly unsnobbish mix of great wine and cracking pizza

Q&A: Riaz Syed, owner, Stonewines

Published: 19 September, 2019

When Riaz Syed opened Stonewines in north London’s Whetstone, he opted for a frequently changing portfolio of more esoteric wines, specifically targeting a younger demographic. Andrew Catchpole dropped by to find out how it’s gone

Ask a somm: Christopher Lecoufle, GM & head sommelier, Les 110 de Taillevent

Published: 17 September, 2019

Its sister restaurant in Paris has two Michelin stars and London’s Les 110 de Taillevent aspires to similar heights with its modern French food and impressive wine list.

My perfect customer: Emily Silva, The Oxford Wine Company

Published: 17 September, 2019

How would you describe your customer base?

Q&A: Simon Robinson, chairman, Wine GB

Published: 17 September, 2019

Following the excellent 2018 vintage and a ramping up of exports, English and Welsh wine has come of age. Andrew Catchpole asks what’s next for the burgeoning domestic scene

Guy Woodward: Chasing rainbows

Published: 13 September, 2019

Louis Roederer International Wine Columnist of the Year 2018

Tim Atkin MW: Fanfare for a Chablis titan

Published: 10 September, 2019

TIM ATKIN MW: Wine critic, broadcaster, co-chair of the IWC

Joe Fattorini: on the availability heuristic

Published: 03 September, 2019

Joe Fattorini, head of London sales at Fields, Morris & Verdin

From L’Hotel to L’Atelier

Published: 27 August, 2019

Having cut their teeth at Hotel du Vin under the late, great Gerard Basset, Steve Pineau and Dimitri Mesnard have a slick operation in Brighton offering wine and Prohibition era-cocktails. Jo Gilbert caught up with the dynamic duo

Ask a sommelier: Gaëtan Lacoste, Le Clarence, Paris

Published: 21 August, 2019

Michelin-starred Parisian restaurant Le Clarence was established in 2015 by Domaine Clarence Dillon which owns a number of historical French wine estates including Bordeaux First Growth Château Haut-Brion, Château La Mission Haut-Brion and Saint-Émilion’s Château Quintus.

My perfect customer: Phil Innes, Loki Wine

Published: 21 August, 2019

Birmingham’s Loki Wine is one of the city’s best-loved indies but how does owner Phil Innes find and retain customers, and what does his perfect client look like? He shares his customer secrets and tips.

Q&A: Mitchell Taylor, Wakefield Wines

Published: 20 August, 2019

To mark its first half century, Andrew Catchpole talks to the man behind this leading Clare Valley estate about the Legacy and innovation in Australia

Jerry Lockspeiser: Is this wine’s fake news?

Published: 16 August, 2019

August is traditionally silly season in the media. Nothing serious happens, so they entertain us with the frivolities of life. This year is a little different.

The Wine Society's new groove

Published: 13 August, 2019

With a new chief executive at the helm, Andrew Catchpole visits The Wine Society to discover what’s up at this venerable members’ merchant

Guy Woodward: is using Champagne as a mixer a sin?

Published: 08 August, 2019

GUY WOODWARD

Tim Atkin MW: Canary in the global coalmine

Published: 05 August, 2019

“Phew. What A Scorcher!” I’m old enough to remember June 1976, when we had 15 consecutive days above 32°C. The Sun’s headline captured some of the excitement I felt as a teenager. In those days British summers were frequently cool, overcast affairs and all of a sudden Kent felt like the Costa Brava. What was scorching then seems almost temperate now. Last week Cambridge sweated through the second hottest day ever at 38.1°C, just behind Faversham’s UK record of 38.5°C in August 2003.

Friday Read: Talking hard Graft with Nik Darlington and David Knott

Published: 01 August, 2019

A similar philosophy has brought Red Squirrel and the Knotted Vine into a new chapter for both businesses. Jo Gilbert caught up with the trade’s latest power duo

Joe Fattorini: selling obscure online

Published: 30 July, 2019

JOE FATTORINI

Jerry Lockspeiser: Damned if we do, damned if we don’t

Published: 26 July, 2019

Over breakfast in a lovely B&B in Corbridge, an ideal overnight stop before the last leg of our cycling trip along Hadrian’s Wall, the conversation turned to alcohol consumption in Scotland. One of our group, Paul, a qualified doctor and psychiatrist, was expounding the virtues of Minimum Unit Pricing as a weapon to fight the scourge of alcohol abuse amongst the Scottish poor.

My Perfect Customer: Wolseley Wine Loft

Published: 25 July, 2019

In the first of a new series Dave Eglington from Stafford’s Wolseley Wine Loft shares his customer secrets and tips on how to build and maintain relations in the independent off-trade.