The autumn edition of the Specialist Importer Trade Tasting (SITT) events in London and Manchester took place at the end of September with halls in each of the city’s venues packed full of importers proudly displaying their global wine discoveries As part of the tasting event, Drinks Retailing editor Sonya Hook chaired an event entitled The Business of Wine: Trends, Threats and Opportunities.

Drinks Trust Patrons and wine personalities Helen McGinn and Olly Smith took to the stage at the charity’s annual Gala, helping to raise more than £92,000 for people across the drinks industry.Held at the historic Guildhall in the City of London, this key fixture in the drinks industry calendar brought together more than 360 influential guests to mark the charity’s 140th anniversary with an…

A winery manager and chairman of the Leithaberg DAC in Austria, Frank Schindler has been in the business for a long time – for much of which he has been involved with ProWein.  First becoming acquainted with the trade fair in 2000, the now director said he experienced ProWein “initially as a visitor, then as a buyer, later as an exhibiting importer and,…

NIQ’s Rob Hallworth has the figures that prove football is a winning game for drinks producers. The FIFA World Cup 2026 provided a significant lift for the UK beer category, helping to reverse a challenging start to the year and reinforcing the connection between football and beer consumption. According to NIQ analysis, beer volume sales in the off-trade increased by 9.9%…

Spring frosts and summer heatwaves have led to uneven harvest volumes across France’s Centre-Loire region, with Reuilly, Coteaux de la Charité and Coteaux de Tannay among the worst affected appellations.  Wines of Centre-Loire described the vintage as one of extremes, with summer temperatures peaking at 41°C.  As in the rest of France, the organisation said scorching weather had led to record-early harvesting. …

Administrators have been appointed at community-owned Scotch whisky distillery Glenwyvis, based in Dingwall in the Highlands. Glenwyvis was founded in 2015 as a community benefit society, a not-for-profit corporate body constituted to serve the wider community. It has over 3,800 members. The administrators are Alistair McAlinden and Geoff Jacobs of Interpath Advisory who had initially been brought in to explore raising the…

Czech national brewer Budweiser Budvar has named Rich Sanna as its new managing director, with him set to take up the role on 1 January 2027.  Sanna joined Budweiser Budvar UK in 2019 as multiple grocer channel controller and has since held several senior roles, including sales director for the on-trade, commercial director and commercial and marketing director.  He will succeed…