UK government is considering a 25% tariff on imported US wine
The proposed tariff is a belated escalation of the trade dispute started when Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on steel imports into the US.
Full story »
Wine News Archive
Government will drop red tape for all wine imports
VI-1 forms which were set to be expanded to all EU wines following Brexit, will now be dropped for all wine saving an estimated £130 million in red tape.
Full story »
Australian wine exports to the UK leapt by 16% by volume in the 2020-21 financial year
Australia has seen a surge in UK wine sales over the Covid lockdown, with wine exports to the UK leaping by 16% by volume in the 2020-21 financial year.
Full story »
Penfolds Grange breaks record for any Australian wine sold at auction
Penfolds Grange, the iconic Australian wine, has broken all records for any Australian wine sold at auction. A bottle of the 1951 vintage sold at A$142,131 (£76,750) and was the first Penfolds wine ever to sport the Grange label.
Full story »
Germany’s Ahr region suffers extreme floods
Terrifying floods damage Germany's wine producers in the far North West region of Ahr.
Full story »
19 Crimes wine brand launches a seltzer
Treasury, the owner of Penfolds, has used its more experimental brand 19 Crimes to launch a hard seltzer.
Full story »
England is leaving lockdown this Monday 19th July
As England comes out of enforced restrictions next week, the change of rules will mean that pubs and bars will be able to freely operate without any restrictions.
Full story »
Cheval Blanc and Ausone threaten to leave St Emilion classification
Two of St Emilion’s top ranked wine estates are leaving the appellation over concerns that changes to the ranking system are not in their best interests.
Full story »
White Port and Tonic - the refreshing drink for 2021?
Taylor's launched their Chip Dry White Port with Tonic in a Ready to Drink can last month, now available in the UK, USA and Portugal.
Full story »
Russia forces Champagnes to be re-labelled Sparkling wine in Russia
The recent Russian law has left Champagne companies flat and banned them from using the term Russian word for Champagne, shampanskoye.
Full story »
Research uncovers the truth about how our sense of smell changes with age
The Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen have been looking at how our sense of smell changes as we age.
Full story »
Wine Society the big winner at the IWC Merchant Awards
The Wine Society won a total of six awards last night at the IWC ceremony, including IWC Merchant of the Year, Dynamic Merchant and Wine Club of the Year.
Full story »
Australia takes China to the World Trade Organisation
This week Australia formally complained to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) about China's punitive tariffs on Australian wines.
Full story »
South Africa bans wine sales again
South Africa is facing a third wave of coronavirus and is banning the sale of alcohol in the on and off trade for the fourth time since the pandemic began.
Full story »
75% of UK pubs and restaurants open by the end of May
The number of licensed venues in the UK more than doubled from 32.9% in April to 76.2% in May, but still 25,000 licensed premises remained closed.
Full story »
Chianti Classico approves named sub-regions for top wines
The Chianti Classico Consortium has approved the use of village names within the classico sub-region, known as Menzioni Geografiche Aggiuntive
Full story »
English wine week finishes this weekend with the Wine GB Awards out today
WineGB Awards for 2021 have been released just in time for English Wine Week.
Full story »
Coravin unveils its new sparkling wine preservation system
For some time, Coravin has been a leading method of tasting still wines from the same bottle over a period of months. Now they have launched their new sparkling wine system.
Full story »
Trade deals away, UK does free trade deal with Australia
UK trade deal will save up to 9p for a bottle of Aussie wine
Full story »
US trade deal with EU paused with 25% punitive tarrifs on EU wine exported to America dropped
The US and EU have paused the trade dispute over airplane subsidised, that had seen punitive taxes on EU wines and spirits.
Full story »
ThirtyFifty shortlisted for the IWC Wine Educator of the Year
ThirtyFifty, a leading wine educator in the UK, has been shortlisted for the IWC UK Merchant Awards Wine Educator of the Year.
Full story »
Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships winners are announced
Two £12,000 scholarships have been awarded to BAME/BIPOC students to assist their studies for the Master of Wine or the Master Sommelier.
Full story »
English Wine Week 19-27 June
English Wine Week starts next weekend on Saturday 19th June until the following Sunday 27th June.
Full story »
South Africa finally has some cool news
South Africa’s harvest for 2021 is up by 8.9% on 2020, with cooler and wetter weather the vintage was harvested a couple of weeks later.
Full story »
40 producers from Rioja Alavesa try to break away from Rioja
Rioja Alavesa producers claim to be disappointed with the Rioja DOCa and plan to great a new Viñedos de Álava DO.
Full story »
The truth about the second cheapest bottle on a restaurant being the worst value
A study by the American Association of Wine Economists looked at London restaurants to answer the question of whether they put extra mark up on the second cheapest wine, knowing many people will order it not wanting to look cheap.
Full story »
NZ Sauvignon Blanc will be in short supply in 2021
NZ Sauvignon Blanc will be in short supply later this year as two low vintages and buoyant sales reduce supplies.
Full story »
Mouton Cadet exclusively lists with Freixenet Copestick
Mouton Cadet, the high volume brand from Bordeaux's Mouton Rothschild, has signed a deal to be exclusively distributed by Freixenet Copestick which owns the Cava brand that's been expanding in many areas.
Full story »
Low&no alcohol wines are missing something...sales!
The demand for low and no alcohol beverages while still small, is on the rise, but this week Wine Intelligence said that wine was missing out on the opportunity, compared to beers and spirits.
Full story »
London Wine Fair 17-19 May Online
The 2021 London Wine Fair begins on Monday for 3 days, as a virtual event.
Full story »
UK lockdown restrictions are easing on the 17th May
The UK, Scotland and Welsh governments all confirmed that restrictions on Hospitality were to ease on Monday the 17th May as planned.
Full story »
Bordeaux En Primeur is underway with Cheval Blanc the first to release
The price for the 2020 Cheval Blanc is €380 / btl and is very close to the 2019 vintage of €370 /btl and the quality appears to be at least as good.
Full story »
Australian exports to China fall by AU$313m in four months
China’s import tariff on Australian wines has led to a collapse in sales from AU$325m to AU$12m in the four months of December 2020 to March 2021.
Full story »
Out of this world Petrus to go on sale, with Christie’s predicting a sky high price of US $1 million
A bottle of Bordeaux Petrus 2000 is hoped to sell for $1 million US dollars at auction after spending a year in space.
Full story »
Airport-style duty free shops for Calais and Dunkirk ports
This week a new 1,000 square meter duty free shop was announced for Calais, while work on the Dunkirk shop is due to be completed ready for opening in July.
Full story »
UK Wine Consumption up 2.2% in 2020
The world was drinking 3% less wine in 2020 but the UK saw a 2.2% rise according to the OIV.
Full story »
Yellow Tail the strongest wine brand, in this year’s Global Wine Brand Power Index
Yellow Tail leads pack and along with Jacobs Creek, another Australian wine, in the top 10. Chile has the most brands in the top 10 at 3.
Full story »
OIV publishes the top wine producing countries in 2020 with Italy on top
Each year France and Italy vie to be the world's largest wine producing country, with this year Italy coming in at top place with 19% of the world's wine production vs France at 18%.
Full story »
New Zealand wines are set for price rises after strong sales and a debilitating frost in 2021
The New Zealand 2021 harvest has been severely hit by a hard frost and so, with strong sales over the Covid period, shortages are likely.
Full story »
Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships applications close with 42 candidates
The two scholarships worth £55,000 will be awarded to candidates studying the Master of Wine or the Master Sommelier course.
Full story »
EU allows appellation to create low and no alcohol wines
From 2023, Europe's finest wine regions have the option to create low and no alcohol wines.
Full story »
Fine wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan has been deported to Indonesia
Kurniawan defrauded fine wine buyers by mixing wines to create fakes that he sold for 1.3m between 2004-2012. He was deported to Indonesia after serving 7 years of his sentence in a Texas jail.
Full story »
UK pubs with outdoor space opened this Monday and on Tuesday sales were up on last year
Like-for-like sales were up 59% on the same time last year, but with only 38% of pubs having an outdoor space it is small beer in the big scheme of things.
Full story »
France and parts of Europe hit by the worst frost in decades
Wide spread frost has hit many vineyards over several nights, devastating many of France's top wine regions and parts of Europe.
Full story »
Mavrik claims to have found the solution to smoke taint
Smoke tainted wines have become the curse of Australia and California, and the resulting wines have a loss of fruit, unattractive smoke flavours and a harsh mouthfeel.
Full story »
London Wine Fair goes digital - book now for samples!
The London Wine Fair is being run on the 17-19 May 2021 as an online trade event.
Full story »
UK Hospitality partially open from 12th April
The next big step for the UK, easing out of a lockdown that began before Christmas, will be to allow pubs and restaurants to open for outdoor service on Monday 12th April.
Full story »
UK Government announces Deposit Return Scheme
Returning bottles for cash will be launched in 2024 in England, Wales & northern Ireland. Scotland scheme is due to launch in July 2022.
Full story »
Introduction of the VI-1 form for European wines delayed until December 2021
The VI-1 form is an import document that many in the wine industry do not believe is needed.
Full story »
Massive flooding in the Eastern Australia hits vineyards
With many of the grapes harvested before the floods came, only a few regions had grapes to be picked, but Hunter Valley in NSW still at risk.
Full story »