Australian Vintage launches 5.5% abv wine
Australian Vintage has launched a 5.5% abv wine that comes in a clear pint bottle with crown cap.
New wines for Off-Piste
Off-Piste Wines has launched new ranges from Australia, Italy and South Africa at the London International Wine Fair.
Beringer launches premium range
Treasury Wine Estates has launched a range of wines from Beringer that are designed to be the entry point for the winery's premium California portfolio.
New look and flavours for Gaymers
Gaymers Cider is set to relaunch with a new look and two new fruit flavours – Pear Cider with Raspberry and Pear Cider with Cherry and Apple – in June.
Sell wine not offers, supermarkets warned
Supermarkets need to stop concentrating on deals and discounts and sell wines for their own sake, according to Paul MacKenzie, chief executive of consumer research company The Source.
Jancis Robinson names key wine trends
Lighter-style wines, a greater awareness of environmental issues and a growing interest in quality and variety are among the key trends shaping the global wine industry today, according to writer and broadcaster Jancis Robinson MW.
Euro crisis could spark wine investment boom
Fine wine could become much more attractive to investors if the crisis in the Eurozone deepens, according to FT investment columnist John Authers.
Molson Coors-owned Sharp’s has created three bottled beers to be partnered with food.
Sampling and beauty tips in summer push for Malibu
Malibu will be targeting shoppers in Cardiff, Liverpool and Birmingham with cocktail sampling between June 28 and July 15.
Football ads for Sierra tequila
Sierra tequila is to be advertised on perimeter boards at Roy Hodgson's first match as England manager on May 26.
Irish cider producer C&C Group has seen revenue growth from its Magners cider brand in GB for the first time in five years.
Guala launches screwcap for sparkling wines
Guala Closures Group has launched what it says is the world’s first screwcap closure for 75cl bottles of sparkling wine.
TV and cinema ad for Kopparberg
Kopparberg cider launches a new advertising campaign on TV today and in cinemas later in the summer.
New English sparkler for Tesco
Tesco has added an English sparkler to its range ahead of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.
Scottish government wants 50p minimum price
The Scottish government has set its preferred minimum unit price for alcohol at 50p.
Free glass promotion on BBFB spirits
Bacardi-Brown Forman Brands is running a free branded glass promotion on 500,000 bottles of its spirits brands in grocery accounts and convenience stores.
Pear variant for Stella Artois Cidre
AB Inbev is set to launch a pear variant of its Stella Artois Cidre.
Oddbins matches music and wine
Oddbins has launched what it says is “the world’s first synchronised wine and music-matching event”.
M&S unveils Mediterranean range
Marks & Spencer is introducing 15 wines from six eastern Mediterranean countries.
Naked Wines to launch in the US and Australia
Online retailer Naked Wines is moving into the US and Australia with low-key retail operations setting up in both countries over the summer.
English vineyards reach record high
The amount of land under vine in England has grown by more than 60% in just five years, according to the latest figures from the Wine Standards Branch of the Food Standards Agency.
Specsavers is looking for women in drinks retailing to enter its Everywoman in Retail awards.
D&D wines goes into administration
D&D Wines has collapsed after running into cash flow problems, OLN has learned.
Red & White to grow with franchise
A West Midlands wine retailer is hoping to expand with franchised shops.
Irish independents in crisis
Ireland’s independent off-licence sector will go out of business in five years, warns the chairwoman of the National Off-Licence Association, unless the Irish government enforces legislation to curb aggressive price promotion and introduces structural segregation of alcohol.
Chain collapse cost 732 jobs
It has emerged that the number of people who lost their jobs in last year’s collapse of Simon Baile’s Oddbins was almost twice that stated by administrator Deloitte at the time.
Sainsbury's scoops top prize in cider challenge
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference French Sparkling Cider has won the International Cider Challenge 2012.
Booker's Hart leaves to set up brewing business
Booker’s wine category manager, Rob Hart, has left the business to start his own microbrewery.
Sunset clause for minimum unit pricing in Scotland
MSPs have agreed a sunset clause in proposed minimum pricing legislation which will see the measure automatically expire after six years unless a specific order is made by ministers for it to continue.
Bargain Booze loses Hughes
Bargain Booze joint managing director Matthew Hughes has left the business after owner ECI Partners called off its search for a buyer for the franchise chain.
HMRC cracks down on shops selling illicit alcohol
HM Revenue & Customs has stepped up its work with local councils to strip retailers who sell duty-defrauded and counterfeit alcohol of their licences.
Bacardi Brown-Forman launches retailer advice site
Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands has launched a trade support programme for convenience stores.
Scratchcard push for E&J Brandy
Gallo’s E&J Brandy has launched a scratchcard promotion for independent convenience stores.
Cube tour and special packs to aid Peroni campaign
Peroni is taking a giant cube installation on a UK tour as part of its new advertising campaign.
Ad campaign for Carling Zest
Molson Coors has launched a £2 million ad campaign for citrus-flavoured 2.8% abv lager Carling Zest.
Accolade launches pre-mix range
Accolade Wines has launched a new range of canned, pre-mixed cocktails based on its Hardys, Banrock Stations, Echo Falls and Stone’s wines.
ECI calls off hunt for Bargain Booze buyer
Bargain Booze owner ECI Partners has called off its search for a buyer for the franchise chain.
Courvoisier to spend £15m with focus on cocktails
A competition for consumers to win a trip to a number of exotic locations around the world will appear in an on-pack promotion for Courvoisier Cognac this summer.
Special edition for Tio Pepe En Rama
González Byass is set to release a special edition of Tio Pepe En Rama, its unclarified, unfiltered fino, to celebrate the 200th birthday of the winery’s founder Manuel Maria González.
New look for Nyetimber
English sparkling wine Nyetimber has revamped its packaging in time for the UK’s summer of celebrations.
Profits rise at Bruichladdich
Islay’s Bruichladdich distillery has boosted its operating profits by 19.6% to £1.4 million, it has announced in its latest results.
Win tickets to Cheltenham jazz festival with Westons
Westons’ Henry Westons cider has become the official sponsor of the Cheltenham Jazz & Literature Festival for the next three years – and is celebrating by offering OLN readers tickets to the jazz festival on May 4-7.
Tesco in dragons' den at LIWF
Tesco is taking a stand at the London International Wine Fair and is calling on suppliers and producers to come to its wine team with ideas and projects – in what the supermarket is calling a “Dragons Den-style opportunity”.
Guinness boosts African brands
Diageo GB is boosting distribution of its Nigerian-brewed Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and non-alcoholic Malta Guinness through Surrey-based distributor Kato Enterprises.
Strongbow earns new ad campaign
Heineken has launched a multi-million pound ad campaign for Strongbow, positioning the cider as a reward for “men who get the job done”.
Blavod releases Red Leg rum
Blavod Wines & Spirits is introducing its own spiced rum as a replacement for Cockspur, the agency rights to which it lost in October 2010.
Carlsberg names line-up for England football packs
Carlsberg will have special packs featuring England footballers on sale from late May until the end of Euro 2010 in July.
Slurp launches corporate gift division
Online retailer Slurp has launched a microsite in a bid to build sales of corporate gifts of wine.
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