1. Home
2. News

The week that was

Top Stories: Two major stories emerged from from the trade this week.

One being the major Côtes du Rhône swindle, which Harpers revealed this week allegedly passed off 50 million hectolitres of wine from outside the region as Côtes du Rhône AOC, as well as 10,000 litres as Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

According to French authorities, the country’s largest bulk wine negociant Raphaël Michel, which is reportedly responsible for the scam, was embroiled in “a massive misuse of the Côtes du Rhône label”.

And of course Conviviality’s financial troubles took a turn for the worse with £125m identified as the sum needed to bail out the wholesaling giant.

More on that below.

• Côtes du Rhône scam sold 66 million bottles of fake wine
• Transformed Slovakia targets UK
• Henkell buys majority stake in Freixenet
• Louis Latour Agencies signs deal as Castello Banfi distributor
• Vagabond reveals first wines to come out of new Battersea winery

Conviviality conundrum: Conviviality’s situation went from bad to worse this week after the Bibendum and Wine Rack owner issued its third profit warning in a month.  

In the company’s most recent statement, it announced it was unlikely to be able to continue trading if it did not raise £125m to not only plug a £30 tax shortfall owned to HMRC, but settle overdue payments with its creditors and fund costs associated with the work undertaken to recapitalise the business.

The story so far on the links below.

• Conviviality to raise £125 million to avoid collapsing
• Conviviality dismisses financial turmoil as ‘short-term challenge'
• Diana Hunter steps down as Conviviality CEO
• Cash strapped Conviviality looks to equity fundraise to meet £30m tax bill
• Conviviality shares suspended

Analysis and Insights: A European focus this week with country reports honing in on Spain’s premium ambitions and how Riesling is encouraging consumers to try Germany’s lesser-known wines.

There were also insights from Wine Intelligence on the growth of Mediterranean wines.

And we looked at the future trajectory of the sparkling wine market when up against a growing gulf between everyday fizz and high-end Champagne.

• Spain raises the stakes
• Riesling: gateway to Germany
• Shaking up the sparkling wine market
• Mediterranean momentum

People and Opinion: By taking an holistic approach from sourcing to supply, Kingsland Drinks is injecting innovation along the way, says Andrew Catchpole in this week’s supplier profile.

And we continued this month’s online-focus for our meet the buyers series with Ray O’Connor at Naked Wines, which has been looking to Netflix for inspiration.

• Profile: Kingsland Drinks
• Meet the buyers: Ray O’Connor, wine director, Naked Wines