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.
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Wine News Archive
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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%.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship announces Taylor’s Port as major sponsor
Taylor's Port house has been awarded naming rights to the new Taylor’s Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarships.
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The best ways to save money when buying wine duty free from France
Brexit Britain has been under new duty-free rules since January, but with lockdowns and bans on travel, many Brits don’t know what the new allowances mean and how to benefit the most.
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Is infused wine another crime to add to 19 Crimes?
Australian wine company Treasury Wine Estates is launching a Red wine infused with coffee. Could this be a shot to enlighten innovation or a crime against wine?
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2020 a tough year for Australia, but 2021 show opportunities
2020 was a year of bush fires, drought, COVID and then the Chinese slapped a horrendous duty on Australian wine.
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The Golden Vines Awards to fund Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation
The Golden Vines Awards to fund Gerard Basset Wine Education Charitable Foundation, promotes greater diversity and inclusion within the wine trade.
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UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak budget to help the wine business
The UK government's budget this week was good for the wine trade, no duty rises, extensions on VAT, and grants to help business to re-open.
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Scotland Deposit Return Scheme, momentum grows for the delayed scheme
Scotland will be the first country in the UK to implement a Deposit Return Scheme on the 1st July 2022. The delayed scheme will offer a 20p payment for wine bottles and cans returned.
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UK road map out of Covid-19 published
The UK government published its long-awaited path out of Covid lockdown this week. The long slow release of the lockdown is hoped, alongside vaccinations, to ensure that the UK does not require another full lockdown.
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Debt the big headache for hospitality
The UK government's £50k bounce back loan scheme may have saved many businesses but will restrict bounce back recovery.
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Virgin Wines announce stock market flotation on the back of Covid-19 fuelled home delivery boom
Virgin Wines is planning to list on the AIM stock market on the 2nd March after selling 1 million cases in 2020.
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Treasury Wine Estates announces restructure amid claims it will try and stay meaningful in China
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), one of Australia's leading wine companies with wineries in Australia and the US, announced its new company structure, while claiming that it hopes to keep a “meaningful presence” in China.
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The beginning of the end for Lockdown Britain as Government publishes road map out of Covid crisis
The government will announce on February 22nd its plans for the UK to leave lockdown and for ending all Covid-19 restrictions.
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Sutton Coldfield shop loses licence to sell alcohol after counterfeit wines found on the premises
KVK Supermarket in Sutton Coldfield lost its licence to sell alcohol after trading standards were called in when shoppers complained of strange tasting wines from Casella Brands, the people behind Yellow tail.
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Chapel Down puts Curious Brew pub business into administration
Leading UK wine producer Chapel Down has put its award winning beer business into administration to allow RCP (Risk Capital Partners) to buy the business clear of debt.
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French wine sales to the US fell by 14% in 2020
French wine sales to the US fell by 14% in 2020, due to import tariffs placed on them by the Trump presidency over US claims of subsidies to EU plane maker Airbus.
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UK Wine Merchants boom in online sales has led to a shortage of cardboard
Beige Gold is how some merchants have described cardboard. The essential packaging material for shipping bottles is in short supply.
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China continues crackdown on Australian wine with sales falling 98%
China’s crackdown on Australian wine exports has been heavy handed and dramatic with sales falling of a cliff edge. Down 98% from US$158 million in October 2020 to just US$4 million in December.
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WSET forced to stop running courses in China
The WSET has had to shut down all courses in China with immediate effect. Students who were about to take exams have been stopped mid-course.
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The London Wine Fair is going digital for 2021
The May exhibition was hoped to be a live/hybrid event, but organisers this week changed track to an online only event.
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Six new Bordeaux varieties receive final approval for planting this spring
Bordeaux will see the introduction of six new grape varieties going into the ground this spring, including Touriga Nacional and Albariño in their Bordeaux AOC and Bordeaux Superieur AOC wines.
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UK hospitality turnover drops by over 50% in 2020
The hard hit sector in 2019 was worth £133.5bn but in 2020 this had shrunk to £61.7bn
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ThirtyFifty launches new materials to help students pass the WSET course in wine L1 & L3
The L1 Flash Cards and L3 mock exam questions complete the suite of student support materials to help students excel in exams.
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Wine sales online is now a thing but delivery is a problem for some
US wine retailer wine.com saw sales rise to over $329M last year, up 119%, while sales jumped by a third for Waitrose in January, but getting deliveries is now a significant problem in lockdown Britain.
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UK drinks scene in 2020 was different but some wines and countries did very well
Over an additional £1 billion was spent on wine in retail stores in 2020, replacing the sales that normally would be in pubs and restaurants.
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Whatever happens with Brexit, European wines will become more expensive
With Brexit negotiations still ongoing, having missed a number of deadlines, some things are certain - the new paperwork for importing wines from Europe will increase costs, limit choice and hit the fine wine market hard.
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South Africa chronic oversupply could be golden news for UK drinkers
South Africa’s wine industry has had a bad Covid-19 pandemic, temporary export bans and on again, off again prohibition has resulted in a 300m litre wine lake, but who is going to drink it up?
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London enters Tier 3 as restaurants and bars close
London's new Tier 3 scheme will see bars and restaurants closed and schools closing for an extended period over the Christmas break.
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China continues to escalate trade dispute with Australia
China adds another 6.3-6.4% duty to Australian wine as it continues to complain about the dumping of Australian wine. The small increase in duty is not thought to be material considering the 107.1-212.1% duty already levied on Australian wines.
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Scotland comes out of Level 4, but restaurants and related business are starting to fail
Scotland comes out of tier 4 but the damage is already done and we are months away from any sort of normal.
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UK vineyards are in a prime position to take on apprentices, but will they?
Plumpton College has offered up to 10 spaces for their new wine apprenticeship scheme, with 95% of costs paid for by the UK government.
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China gets nasty with Australian wine imports
China has effectively banned Australian wine, coal and beef after relations between the two countries soured due to Australian calls for a full investigations into the cause of Covid-19.
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British Airways sell all, including the family silver
British Airways has been decommissioning its 747 aircraft and has been selling of the family silver, or at least the first-class glasses and crockery and drinks trolley!
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