Alliance Wine has added the Etna producer Tornatore to its Italian portfolio, with wines available from this month.  Based on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, Tornatore is a family estate with a history dating back to 1865.  Today, the producer cultivates over 100 hectares of vineyards alongside olive groves and hazelnut orchards. It draws on Etna’s volcanic…

Alliance Wine has announced that Sarah Benson MW has joined its team after eight years at Co-op, specialising in the Spanish and South American portfolios.  Benson has recently been awarded her Master of Wine title after passing her exams in 2025. This makes her Alliance’s fourth MW on the team.  She has also been recognised elsewhere in the…

Following the acquisition of wholesaler and importer H2Vin last September, the Alliance Autumn Portfolio Tasting set out to highlight the integration of new and old-world wines, with the latter reflecting H2Vin’s traditional expertise.  Centred around three ‘Inspired by’ tables – the Rhône, the Loire and Burgundy – the format paired classic old-world bottles with new-world counterparts to showcase the parallels between…

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has used the 650th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty to highlight forthcoming tax hikes for fortified wines. The WSTA said the alliance, formed in 1373, was followed by the Methuen Treaty, boosting trade by giving preferential tax treatment for British textiles and Portuguese wines. “The trading bond is set to be severed by the government’s new alcohol taxation…

The Alliance des Crus Bourgeois du Médoc has shared its road map to sustainable development as it looks to its next classification in 2025. Comprising a collection of 250 winegrowers in the Médoc, the Alliance trade body has announced several commitments ahead of 2025.  As part of its sustainability plans, the Alliance intends to create an environmental criteria for its members, while encouraging them…

Morrisons has purchased around 1,100 McColl’s stores after the convenience chain briefly went into administration. Reports over the weekend suggested both Morrisons and EG Group were in talks to buy the convenience retailer but administrator PwC said late Monday that Alliance Property Holdings, part of the Morrisons group, had snapped up the business, saving all 16,000 jobs. Morrisons has also agreed to rescue two pension schemes,…

Trade organisation the Bourbon Alliance has welcomed the announcement of an agreement between the US and EU to remove the EU’s tariffs on American whiskeys. The 25% tariff was a retaliatory measure as part of a steel and aluminium trade dispute. The group has now called for the UK government to replicate the agreement. “We congratulate our colleagues in the US and EU who have…