International Women’s Day: The future of women in wine March 3, 2025 This International Women’s Day, I caught up with Queena Wong, a wine enthusiast who is helping to reshape the industry for the better Queena Wong has become a controversial character in wine after spearheading the first UK Women in Wine Survey. According to marketing research agency PROOF Insight, 78 per cent of the women who [...]
Why Tasmania is Australia’s overlooked wine destination February 26, 2025 It was only four years ago I was served a glass of House of Arras, an exceptional sparkling wine, full of crystalline precision and refined fizz. I was surprised to hear it was from Tasmania. Before then, I knew very little about wines from this region. London is the most exciting marketplace for wine in [...]
Billionaire ex-Tory treasurer ups Chapel Down stake after shares collapse February 24, 2025 The billionaire founder of city brokerage ICAP, Lord Michael Spencer, has upped his stake in English wine maker Chapel Down. The former treasurer of the Conservative party serves as a non-executive director of the Kent-headquartered company and now holds a 27.3 per cent stake. The increase comes after Lord Spencer bought 50,000 ordinary shares at [...]
When drinking wine can actually be good for you February 18, 2025 At a recent event, a gentleman humbly recounted a story to me. He had been boasting of his impressive collection of Chateauneuf du Pape to a wine merchant, but upon revealing the vintages, he was dismayed to be told that all these prized bottles would now be past their best and he should have drunk [...]
Kitchen Table’s Sandia Chang: chilled, light red wine is big right now February 3, 2025 Kitchen Table is the Michelin starred Fitzrovia dining experience where guests sit around a horseshoe-shaped bar within close reach of the chefs. James Knappett’s team prepares the food and his wife Sandia Chang manages the drinks. Here Chang tells us about the alcohol (and booze-free) drinks on her mind. Read more: ‘Men stop behaving like [...]
Virgin Wines: ‘A decent Christmas was needed and delivered’ January 29, 2025 Virgin Wines delivered a strong Christmas trading performance and outperformed the wider market, although revenue remained flat year on year. Revenue increased by 6.7 per cent year-on year during the six weeks to 27 December, 2024, the company told markets this morning. Sales rose nine per cent in December 2024 versus December 2023, reaching the highest level since the Covid-19 lockdowns, [...]
Naked Wines: Losses shrink but wine seller still has a way to go January 29, 2025 Naked Wines has begun to stem its losses after a tough few years for the wine merchant, although the firm’s sales continues to shrink. The company told the London Stock Exchange this morning that its revenue fell by 10.2 per cent year on year in the 13 weeks ended 30 December, or 8.9 per cent [...]
Brits warned to brace for higher alcohol prices from next week January 28, 2025 On February 1 new duty rates on wine and spirits will come into force, meaning a rise in price for most alcohol. Under a new sliding system of duties, wine with a higher abv (alcohol by volume) will see the biggest price increase, with the duty on a 14.5 per cent abv wine to rise [...]
British wine industry calls on Eurostar to bring back Kent services January 22, 2025 Britain’s wine industry has called for Eurostar to restart services from two Kent stations to boost the South East of England’s vineyards. The high-speed operator suspended operations from Ashford International and Ebbsfleet in the early stages of the pandemic. But it has faced mounting pressure to bring back the popular routes over the last year [...]
The secrets behind the Kylie Minogue wine brand’s meteoric success January 15, 2025 When Kylie Minogue went to the ProWein industry fair in Düsseldorf, hospitality professionals were stunned to find her on the sales floor rather than in some backstage dressing room. Minogue was fitting in up to 18 meetings per day, sitting down with distributors to discuss deals for her Kylie Wine range. The relentlessness of her [...]