Late last week, chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a mini budget in which he said the planned alcohol duty reform would now include a transitional measure for wine. As part of the mini-budget statement, Kwarteng said: “I have listened to industry concerns about the ongoing reforms. I will therefore introduce an 18-month transitional measure for wine duty.” The announcement comes as the government…

Trade organisations for the wine industry in South Africa have said the 2022 grape crop is down on the previous year. According to the annual South African Wine Harvest Report, the 2022 vintage will “wow consumers with exceptional quality wines, albeit from a somewhat smaller grape crop than in 2021”.   The 2022 wine grape crop is estimated at 1,378,737 tonnes, according to industry body…

What started with Beaujolais Nouveau has developed into a marketing must-have for almost every grape, country and region: your own day, week or month.  With the rise of social media as a marketing tool, having a national, international or “world variety” day has become a quick and low-maintenance hashtag on which to hang an Instagram post or write a blog around.  At worst, these…

Austria’s Neusiedlersee DAC has announced plans to champion the region and its red grape variety, Zweigelt, in the UK market. Torsten Aumüller, managing director of the Neusiedlersee DAC union said in-person activities would resume, including a series of lunches at Trivet, visits and presentations to “highlight the diversity of our region and increase attention, knowledge and profile of one of Austria’s most significant red grape…

Asda has moved away from the conventional supermarket strategy of grouping its wine by region and instead it is listing wines by grape. Research conducted by the supermarket shows 74% of UK wine shoppers declared grape to the the most significant factor in their purchase decision. Two thirds of Brits (60%) revealed they had tried a wine from a different grape for the first time…

Six new grape varieties have been approved in the Bordeaux region. The announcement, by the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualite (INAO), a division of France’s Ministry of Agriculture, represents the culmination of a decade of research by wine scientists and growers of Bordeaux to address the impact of climate change. The four red and two white approved varieties are well-adapted to alleviate…

United Wine Growers (UWG) has launched its first brand for the UK drinks sector. Black Beauty is a 100% Garnacha-Tintorera, which is described as one of the rarer red juice and pulp grape varieties but with skins that are thicker and almost black in colour. The variety has a long history, being cultivated in places such as California during the prohibition days, in the Alentejo…