The start of a new year is when merchants take stock, debrief Christmas trading and look ahead. The prospects for 2026 don’t look good. Global wine consumption is declining and mature markets are becoming harder work for everyone. On-trade data suggests cocktails are gaining share, beer is holding steady and wine is increasingly squeezed. While the preferred strategy for many is to blame…

As consumers increasingly seek out lesser-known wines, New World regions are giving France a run for its money. For all of us keeping pace with dark rosé and unfortified Palomino, it’s a sobering thought that most people are still drinking what they were five or even 15 years ago. Ask any head sommelier or wine director of a top London restaurant…

As traditional merchants grapple with falling demand and stockpiles of unsold bottles, The Wine Society is charting a different course. Could Stevenage’s member-owned merchant be the unlikely hero fine wine needs? The Wine Society is an intriguing case. More than any other institution, it approaches saintly status among many wine writers, who seem to view it as a semi-monastic order of…

The industry should stop blaming generational differences for its woes and instead look to properly understand its upcoming customer base Some years ago, I wrote a piece for Drinks Retailing called The Millennial Bug, defending Millennials against charges that they were destroying the wine industry. They didn’t. In the six years since, we’ve grown up, bought houses, had kids and started…

What’s the difference between a list of the top 100 most influential people in drinks and a list of the top 100 influencers? Potentially nothing – except labels. As we recognise, quite rightly, influential people in the drinks industry, we should also ask why “influential” is a compliment, yet “influencer” carries a sneer. The weight of contempt for influencers has resulted in a speedy…

It was the picture of Princess Diana that got me. Sitting in an old frame, surrounded by peace lilies and a broken mantel clock, my first thought was that monarchism really does get everywhere. But then I realised Diana meant something more to the people of Sir Lowry’s Pass and I felt a sudden tightness in my stomach and a need to bite my…

I’ve been reading a lot about the ancients over the past month, and specifically ancient Roman wine. It started out as research for a bespoke wine tasting that I delivered in December, and then it got out of hand. It’s quite astonishing how much was known about wine 2,000 years ago. Mago, the great agronomist of Carthage, recommended planting on north-facing slopes to…