Only 21 First Quench stores saved
Only 21 stores from the First Quench group have been purchased after adminstrators KPMG failed to find buyers for the remaining 391 stores.
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Wine News Archive
Sub £10 Champagne
Lidl cuts the price of Champagne to under £10 a bottle and other supermarkets discount heavily.
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Vinopolis is 10
London's Vinopolis celebrates its 10th birthday this month.
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Wine containing antibiotic banned in Europe
Wine containing an antibiotic, natamycin, has been withdrawn from sale in Germany because, while it doesn't pose a threat to humans, it is a banned substance in wine in Europe.
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381 First Quench stores close
Adminstrators at First Quench announce the closure of a further 381 stores and 1900 job losses.
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Matt Skinner criticised for recommending wines he hasn't tasted
Wine writer and sommellier Matt Skinner has admitted to not tasting several wines that he recommends in his latest book The Juice 2010.
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Majestic sued by wine writer
Wine writer Martin Isark has issued a writ against Majestic Wine, claiming damages believed to be in the region of £50,000.
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Majestic sales are up
Majestic's half-year trading figures show its change in strategy to reduce minimum purchases to 6 bottles seems to be paying off. Like-for-like sales increased by 5.4% and pre-tax profits were up 9% to £6.1 million over the period.
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Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!
There are great expectations for the 2009 vintage Beaujolais ahead of Beaujolais Nouveau day which arrives this year on Thursday 19 November 2009.
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What a waste of wine!
According to figures collated for WRAP, the Waste & Resource Action Programme, British households are pouring £470 million worth of wine down the plughole every year.
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First Quench to close 373 stores
Administrators of First Quench Retailing have announced the closure of 373 loss-making stores which will result in 1,738 redundancies.
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Sainsbury's and Waitrose go head-to-head on wine promo
Sainsbury's cut the price of wine for a week by 25% and Waitrose launch counter-offensive with same deal.
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Threshers and Wine Rack group goes into administration
First Quench Retailing, owners of Thresher and Wine Rack, has gone into administration.
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Mineral wines are not the salt of the earth
Wines with minerality are not special terroir driven wines, closely linked with the soil, but simply a metaphor for lean and austere wines.
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UK wine critic bans heavyweight bottles from his column
Leading wine critic Tim Atkin MW is boycotting heavyweight wine bottles from recommendations in his Sunday newspaper column
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Ridgeview fears new national park will stop expansion
South Downs national park could jeopardise expansion of a thriving wine industry in Sussex.
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The Wine Show joins BBC show Masterchef Live
The Wine Show has been purchased by Haymarket Exhibitions, owners of Masterchef Live, and will run alongside the food show as a joint event at London's Olympia in November 2010.
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Iron in red wine causes flavour clash with fish
Iron in red wine supports the rule of red wine with red meat, white wine with fish, scientists discover.
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IWSC Southern Hemisphere & Trophy results out
The International Wine & Spirit Competition announce results for Southern Hemisphere wines and Trophy winners.
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UK drinking levels are down
UK alcohol consumption is falling at the fastest rate for more than 60 years according to HM Revenue & Customs data released by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).
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Twitter launches charity wine
Twitter has launched two wines under the brand Fledgling Wine in a joint initiative with Crushpad, a San Francisco based winery and charity Room to Read.
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Tesco shopper falls foul of new alcohol guidelines
A Tesco shopper has fallen foul of new guidelines which support the government's Think 25 responsible drinking campaign.
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Broadbent clears name over 'Jefferson Bottles'
Wine writer Michael Broadbent has won a libel case against Random House over allegations in the book The Billionaire's Vinegar over the notorious Jefferson bottles.
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Fuel from waste water!
A wine company has taken part in a test to demonstrate for the first time how waste water can be converted into fuel.
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English wine harvest in full swing
The harvest is well underway in English vineyards with producers reporting healthy yields, high sugars and balanced acidity in the grapes.
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Pancho Campo MW resigns from Spanish Wine Academy
Pancho Campo MW has resigned as president of the Spanish Wine Academy after a Madrid journalist discovered an arrest warrant for him on the Interpol website.
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Northern off licence chain goes into administration
Independent wine and convenience store chain, Wine Cellar, has gone into administration.
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Bubbles hold the flavour of fizz
It's the bubbles that give Champagne its flavour confirming the long-held view that Champagnes with a fine and persistent mousse, or stream of bubbles, are of a higher quality.
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Computer game creates Wine Tycoons
A new computer wine game Wine Tycoon is being launched in the United States.
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Smaller measures legalised
The UK Government plans to allow sample measures of wine to be served in bars and restaurants by deregulating wine measures under 75ml.
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Laithwaites sets up in Hong Kong
Direct Wines, owner of the Sunday Times Wine Club and Laithwaites, is to launch a new wine club with Hong Kong newspaper, The South China Morning Post.
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Nicolas Catena is Man of the Year
Decanter magazine's Man of the Year 2009 is Nicolas Catena owner of Argentinian winery Catena Zapata.
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Imported 'B.C.' wines annoy locals
British Columbian wines are the focus of media attention and consumer outrage after revelations that bulk imported wine is being sold as B.C. wine.
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Waitrose to take shoppers on journey from 'supermarket to vineyard'
Waitrose is planning to take consumers on organised wine tours in an attempt to educate them about their wine range.
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Protest against Mosel bridge that could desecrate wine region
The wine writer Hugh Johnson is protesting against a new bridge and motorway which he says will desecrate some of the Mosel's finest vineyards.
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London restaurant cuts price of fine wine
Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard is undercutting its competitors on the price of fine wines.
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Louis Roederer wine writers' awards announced
Wine writers had their chance to shine this week at the 2009 Louis Roederer International Wine Writers' Awards held in London.
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Antony Worrall Thompson wine loophole
Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson is in legal wrangle involving £36,000 worth of fine wine.
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Champagne agrees drop in production
The Champagne industry has agreed to reduce yields and cut production by 40% for the 2009 harvest in order to manage supply and stabilise prices.
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International Wine Challenge announces merchant awards
Marks & Spencer and Majestic are the places to shop for wine according to the results of the IWC Merchant Awards announced this week.
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Majestic reduce minimum purchase to 6 bottles
In a bid to attract new customers Majestic wine has reduced the minimum purchase in-store from 12 bottles to 6.
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France is world's number one but there is trouble in Champagne
France has overtaken Italy as the world's biggest producer but in Champagne yields are to be cut to stabilise prices.
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Wine company pulls out of Australia campaign
Wine company Australian Vintage whose brands include McGuigan and Tempus Two is pulling its funding for this year’s UK generic marketing campaign by Wine Australia.
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Wine sales show signs of recovery
The still light wine market may be showing the first signs of recovery with volumes up 2%.
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300g bottle is lightest ever
A 300g lightweight wine bottle claimed to be the lightest screwcap bottle ever to be produced is due to hit UK shelves in January 2010.
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DIAM closure has same footprint as cork
The DIAM wine closure has had its carbon footprint reduced by 12 per cent bringing it in line with its biggest competitor - natural cork.
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LVMH buys 50% stake in Cheval Blanc
Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy has bought a 50% stake in St-Emilion's Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Cheval Blanc.
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Austrians add new appellation in Burgenland
Austria has a sixth wine appellation, Leithaberg in Burgenland, which will be the first DAC to incorporate both red and white wines.
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Fine wine gamble
A betting service for fine wine has been launched by fine wine exchange Liv-ex and Matchbet, an online betting provider.
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Old tobacco technology brings new life to wine
Giant kilns that were once used to dry out tobacco leaves are to be used in experimental winemaking at a Niagara-on-the-Lake winery
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