The Gin Guild has accused spirits producers who describe low- or non-alcohol products as gin of “freeloading” on the success of the category. The guild says such products don’t meet the legal EU and UK requirement for gin to have a minimum abv of 37.5% and shouldn’t be using the word gin on their labelling. Gin Guild director Nicholas Cook said: “The gin industry is…

Our annual list of the most influential, authoritative and dynamic personalities that shape the UK wine trade has now been published. The Top 100 list for 2020 reflects some of the challenges the industry has faced including the closure of the on-trade, which has affected those suppliers that feed into hospitality sectors. Alongside this is the growing importance of key off-trade channels for wine, including…

The UK’s canned wine market is now worth more than £3.6 million, having increased 125% in the year to August 2019, according to the latest data. The popularity of this format in the UK follows the trend for canned wine in the US, where the category has seen exponential growth in the past five years to the stage where it is now worth more than…

Waitrose sold ten weeks’ worth of beer in just four days in its Oxford Botley Road store via its “Unpacked” scheme, where beer (and wine) was made available for consumers to buy using refillable containers. The retailer said the Unpacked trial has been a success overall, and it believes the idea of buying beer and wine in a refillable container – a concept which originated…

Broadland Wineries is installing a new canning line in direct response to the summer success of its Minivino brand. A pink fizz Minivino in a can was added to the range earlier in the year, extending the brand out of its original recyclable cup format. This activity was introduced to meet consumer demand and to fuel Broadland’s ambition for Minivino to be the number one…

Sogrape is taking a majority stake in Liberty Wines, while Champagnes Charles Heidsieck, Piper-Heidsieck and Rare will take a minority stake. The move is described as “significant” for Portuguese producer Sogrape under the leadership of President Fernando da Cunha Guedes. Sogrape, which counts Sandeman and Mateus among its portfolio, first took a minority stake in Liberty Wines in March 2017. Sogrape has a number of…

The Benevolent has reported success for its recent social media push for its ‘It could be me’ campaign. The initiative, which was conceived by five PR agencies (R&R Teamwork, Phipps Relations, Limm Communications, Dillon Morrall and Emma Wellings PR), encouraged supporters to come together by wearing the colours of the wine sector of red, white and pink. On the day – which coincided with the…