Late last week, Freixenet Copestick announced a distribution partnership with South Australia’s Wakefield Wines (pictured). The move sees Clare Valley-based Wakefield switch from Louis Latour – and deepens Freixenet Copestick’s commitment to a new agency strategy. Speaking to Drinks Retailing, Freixenet Copestick managing director Robin Copestick said the deal follows others including New Zealand’s Wither Hills and South Africa’s Spier Wine Farm in 2022. “One…

In a raft of wine reforms, communicated in October, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) removed the requirement for wines imported from the EU to have an additional UK importer label. The initial requirement was a direct consequence of Brexit, and was set to come in when the transition period finishes, at the end of 2023. The Wine and…

Treasury Wine Estates has agreed to acquire Daou Vineyards for up to $1 billion, as it looks to accelerate its focus on luxury wines. The Penfolds owner said late yesterday that the deal for the Pasa Robles-based business includes an upfront consideration of $900 million, plus an additional earn-out of up to $100 million. Daou was founded in 2007 by brothers and co-owners Georges and…

Online wine retailer Naked Wines has named Rodrigo Maza managing director of its UK business.  Maza will succeed former UK managing director, James Crawford, who will now dedicate his time to the chief financial officer role for the Naked Wines group. Crawford, who was the company’s CFO until he became UK MD in 2020, was reappointed CFO in October 2022. Maza joins…

The managing director of glass manufacturer and bottler, Encirc, has decided to leave the business. Adrian Curry, who has been MD for 19 years and with the business for 27, will leave at the end of the year. Curry will be replaced by finance director Sean Murphy, who will assume the MD role on an interim basis. Murphy has worked for Encirc for 19 years,…

The owners of The Bottle Shop in Brixham have announced the closure of the business, amid rising costs. A post on the shop’s social media accounts said: “We’ve been struggling with rising costs, decreased spending and a host of other financial issues since January. We kept going as long as we could and tried everything we could think of but unfortunately we can’t keep going…

From employee initiatives to welfare in the supply chain, looking after people is becoming big business, finds Nigel Huddleston  The discourse around sustainability in the drinks industry usually revolves around the tangible and material aspects of being green, such as energy consumption and packaging. But companies are increasingly recognising that commitments to improving the work experiences of their employees can make an important contribution…