What’s clear after a week in South Africa is that the country has loads to offer UK drinkers – right from entry level wines through to old vines, old vintages and both organic and biodynamic propositions. At Cape Wine 2022 last week, the exhibition floor was peppered with UK buyers and importers, looking for exciting wines and celebrating the return of the trade fair. But…

Scottish convenience retailer, Eddy’s Food Station, has announced the opening of two new stores, bringing its total count to five stores across the country. After opening its first store in Alloa earlier this year, the properties located on 2-6 Main Street, Ceres and 43 Main Street, Leuchars will be rebranded as Eddy’s Food Station stores this week. The two locations were previously…

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has invested a further £1 million in its Wolf Blass ‘Why settle when you can soar?’ campaign. Following the launch last year, TWE said that the next phase of the campaign will include TV advertising, out-of-home and digital. Wolf Blass will also continue its partnership with Secret Escapes, which includes a consumer competition. The brand’s…

Kent-based wine producer Chapel Down has been confirmed as the official wine partner of Kent Cricket. The partnership launched this week as part of the 170th Canterbury Cricket Week, with a pop-up Chapel Down outdoor bar serving English sparkling wine and advertising within the Canterbury grounds. The wine will also be offered to winning teams on the podium at men’s international, women’s international and…

Supermarket grocery sales were up 1.5% in the four weeks ending June 18, according to the latest figures from NielsenIQ, thanks to a boost from the Platinum Jubilee weekend. The Jubilee, which took place during the week ending June 4, boosted sales by 3.7%, NielsenIQ said, with Champagne up 47% and sparkling wine up 40%. Recent warmer weather also caused a slight uptick in sales.

As the trade prepares for English Wine Week (June 18 – 26), trade organisation WineGB has released its latest figures, which show a 69% sales rise for English and Welsh wines since 2019. 15% of sales were made by independent retailers, while winery websites accounted for 22% of sales.  Drawing on data from 2019 to 2021, WineGB found that English and Welsh wine sales…

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…