Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Five minutes with Thibault Lavergne, Wine Story

Published: 05 March, 2024

Andrew Catchpole caught up with Thibault Lavergne of Wine Story at Vin, London’s leading French tasting, to find out what makes this specialist importer tick

50 Best Indies 2024: The full rundown

Published: 15 January, 2024

Meet our 50 Best Indies 2024, celebrating the most dynamic and quality focused merchants in this ever-vibrant sector

50 Best Indies 2024 ranking: 20-11 revealed

Published: 11 January, 2024

This week we continue the rollout of our 50 Best Indies 2024 results, celebrating the top merchants from across this dynamic and ever-engaging sector

Harpers Design Awards 2023: The results

Published: 08 December, 2023

Good and great design can only enhance the liquid in the bottle, while communicating much to the consumer. Andrew Catchpole reports back from Harpers Design Awards 2023.

Five minutes with Charlie Stein, Rick Stein Group

Published: 05 December, 2023

As he rolls out a new series of wine dinners with group head chef and brother Jack across their restaurants, Charlie Stein, director, Rick Stein Group, talks Andrew Catchpole through his approach to wine and food pairing.

Harpers Design Awards 2023 open for entries

Published: 30 May, 2023

Submissions are now being invited for the 2023 edition of Harpers Design Awards, which is the leading competition of its kind in the UK market.

Boutinot Wines: Our friends in the north

Published: 14 March, 2023

The straight-talking northern distributor is a company with many hidden talents, writes Jo Gilbert.

55 minutes with Rathfinny Estate’s winemaking team

Published: 06 March, 2023

A double dose of decision-making is this month’s focus as Andrew Catchpole join’s Rathfinny for 2019 Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noir dosage trials

Argentina’s ‘white revolution’ moves to newer sites

Published: 24 February, 2023

The slow but steady creep of Argentina’s white wines into new territories has entered a new chapter at Susana Balbo Wines, where the winemaking team has been experimenting with what it believes could be the Uco Valley’s first white-only appellation.

Danbury Ridge shows eastern promise

Published: 21 February, 2023

Essex clays are poised to lead the charge of quality English still wine. Andrew Catchpole reports from Crouch Valley’s Danbury Ridge.

Howard Ripley Wines branches out with Jay Somers and Bob Lindquist

Published: 20 February, 2023

Independent wine importer Howard Ripley Wines has announced the signing of two US growers to its portfolio as it looks to expand beyond its long-standing flagship regions.

Boutinot heads ‘home’ to New Zealand with Heaphy acquisition

Published: 17 February, 2023

Boutinot Wines, the international producer and distributor based in Manchester, has finalised the purchase of its first-ever wholly-owned vineyard site and estate in New Zealand, Harpers can reveal.

Tim Atkin MW: ‘Fine wine’ is outdated

Published: 09 February, 2023

It was a noble, if ultimately inconclusive exercise. Maybe that’s true of anything that involves an indigestible dose of subjectivity. But you can’t fault Areni Global for attempting to define and “rethink” the fine wine market, no less. In a recent white paper, accompanied by an entertaining panel debate and tasting at Sotheby’s in London, the impressive think tank set out to analyse what its chair, Nicole Rolet, calls the “fine wine ecosystem”. Ambitious, as I said.

Finding the ‘perfect’ English sparkling wine glass

Published: 30 January, 2023

Designing the best glass with which to serve a particular style of wine has long been the mission for the Riedel family, which has built a glass-blowing empire out of pinpointing the precise dimensions for higher end drinks receptacles. And having a bespoke vessel to deliver the best expression of your wine arguably suggests you have ‘arrived’, confirming a seat at the top table. A position English sparkling wine took a step closer to last week.

Friday read: Paolo De Marchi leaves 'happy ghosts' at Isole e Olena

Published: 27 January, 2023

Justin Keay reports on a recent visit to Paolo De Marchi of Isole e Olena winery towards the end of 2022, in what turned out to be an elegiac trip. In 2022, De Marchi completed his last vintage after almost 50 years.

Bancroft pushes into the Spanish Levante with new addition

Published: 23 January, 2023

Bodegas Mustiguillo, part of the Grandes Pagos de Espana, is joining the Bancroft Wines portfolio as the distributor bolsters UK representation of wine from Spain’s Mediterranean coast.

Liberty welcomes record number of visitors to familiar turf

Published: 20 January, 2023

Liberty Wines is celebrating a bumper tasting at its usual Oval hunting ground on Tuesday (17 February), where a record number of visitors made the pilgrimage to its annual portfolio event.

St Austell hails expansion to Wales

Published: 18 January, 2023

St Austell Brewery is expanding its reach into South Wales, taking the reach of its wholesale business beyond its West Country stronghold.

Cult Wines posts more positive outlook for Burgundy and Champagne

Published: 13 January, 2023

Fine wine investment platform, Cult Wines, closed 2022 with a ‘positive end to the year’, the company has revealed, with its Cult Wines Global Index concluding the 12 months with a 20.54% gain.

Jump into the world of French wine at VIN

Published: 06 January, 2023

The UK trade is being invited to uncork some of France’s best kept secrets alongside enduring favourites at VIN, next month’s trade tasting event, which will bring together 50 producers and importers.