Simpsons Wine Estate, has announced its application to the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for grant funding to develop a state-of-the-art winery, has been successful. The Kent-based winery, headed up by Charles and Ruth Simpson, has been awarded a grant, which will assist in the conversion of two barns into a modern winery and tasting room. The barns are situated equidistant to its vineyards…

Hull’s Great Newsome Brewery has been awarded one of the first Food Safety and Quality Certificates to be accredited by the Society of Independent Brewers. The SIBA FSQ was launched in July to provide retailers with an independently assessed quality management mark to help them identify high-quality brewers in a crowded and competitive market place. Craft brewer Great Newsom was awarded the unique standard following…

Australian brewery Redoak has claimed the Supreme Champion award at the International Beer Challenge for the second year running after thrilling judges with its Chateau Sour. Last year brewer David Hollyoak seized the most coveted honour in the beer world for his Special Reserve, and followed it up in 2014 as his sour beer beat more than 500 from across the globe to the top…

A 19-year-old worker at an independent drinks retailer has won a spirits scholarship launched by William Grant to celebrate the life of its former prestige retail manager Ian Murray. Murray died last year after a short illness, and his family and colleagues at William Grant make up the judging panel. They awarded the scholarship to West Midlands teenager Jerome Marks-Gardener, whose father runs independent drinks…