Wine

How to tailor a low and no drinks offer at your pub

PROMOTIONAL CONTENT

The low and no drinks you must serve in January

By The Morning Advertiser

What goes up must come down is the saying, and the festive highs in the on-trade are painfully followed by January lows – but it doesn’t have to be this way.

What are the key trends for UK pubs 2024?

What’s in store for 2024?

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Here at The Morning Advertiser, we’ve rounded up some of the key predictions for food, drink and entertainment at pubs in 2024.

New products: this week's round up features Lucky Saint, Kingfisher and The Busker Irish Whiskey

NEW PRODUCTS ROUND-UP

Kingfisher unveils new zero alcohol variant

By Rebecca Weller

This month's round-up features new products from Kingfisher, Lucky Saint, Hattingley Valley, Two Tribes Brewery, Hive Mind and The Busker Irish Whiskey.

De minimis nonsense: operators brand the introduction of pints of wine in pubs as

Pint of wine sales 'distraction from real issues'

By Rebecca Weller

Operators across the sector have branded the concept of selling pints of wine in the on-trade as a “peculiar distraction” from more pressing issues and an attempt to “scrape” some “benefit” to Brexit.

Number crunching: drinks sales were down compared to the same period in 2022 (image: Getty/ValentynVolkov)

Xmas drinks sales ‘on a knife edge’

By Nikkie Thatcher

Drinks sales for the last week of November/first weekend of December were down again compared to last year, new figures have found.

What are the best selling brands of 2023?

DRINKS LIST 2024

The Drinks List – top brands to stock in 2024

By The Morning Advertiser

Welcome to the Drinks List 2024 – a list of the top-selling beverages in the on-trade looking at 15 different categories during the past year.

Bibendum wine report 2024: key trends pubs need to know (Credit: Getty/AtlasStudio)

Bibendum top wine trends for 2024

By Rebecca Weller

Close to nine out of 10 consumers would recommend a venue where they rated the wine offering as “very good or excellent”.

Drinks Masterclass: Lee Isaacs looks at ways for pubs to improve wine offering (Credit: Getty/Jetta Productions Inc)

DRINKS MASTERCLASS

Pubs need to 'stand out from the crowd' when it comes to wine

By Rebecca Weller

Kickstarting the latest series of The Morning Advertiser’s Drinks Masterclass, we've looked at trends within the wine category and how operators can “stand out from the crowd” to encourage consumers to explore wine lists and boost sales.

Food and alcohol: How to combine your two favourite things (Credit: Getty/ miodrag ignjatovic)

Alcohol in food can be a recipe for success

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Pints are pulled and wine poured at British gastropubs while dishes are plated and served. But in the kitchen, the worlds of food and alcohol become one.

What's in the news 14 July

Review of the Week

‘It’s a bit of a war out there’

By Ed Bedington

The MA's Ed Bedington caught up with Heartwood Collection chairman Mark Derry to discuss the week's news, from duty rates to recruitment and the need to be more upbeat.

New products: this week's round-up features Hooch, Shepherd Neame, Never Say Die Whisky, Rich's Cider and Radlow Hundred vineyard

NEW PRODUCTS ROUND-UP

Hooch unveils new flavour

By Rebecca Weller

This week's round-up features new products from Hooch, Shepherd Neame, Never Say Die Whisky, Rich's Cider and Radlow Hundred vineyard.

New products: this week's round up includes Bathtub Gin, Camden Town Brewery, Otter Brewery, Jam Shed, Black Sheep Brewery, Salcombe Distilling Co., Seven Brothers and Hive Mind Brewery

NEW PRODUCTS ROUND-UP

Bathtub Gin releases new seasonal flavour

By Rebecca Weller

This week's round-up features new products from Bathtub Gin, Camden Town Brewery, Otter Brewery, Jam Shed, Black Sheep Brewery, Salcombe Distilling Co., Seven Brothers and Hive Mind Brewery.

Story time: Heath Ball at the Red Lion & Sun writes stories about wines rather than tasting notes (credit: Getty/SolStock)

FEATURE: Wine

FEATURE: Let your pub shine with wine

By Michelle Perrett

There are some fantastic pubs serving amazing wines in the UK – but the pub sector does have some challenges to overcome in the category because it has a reputation for being focused on developing its beer menus rather than targeting wine sales.

Outgoing CEO: David Forde saw C&C Group through the troubled Covid-19 period

David Forde quits as CEO at C&C

By Gary Lloyd

Drinks company C&C Group has announced David Forde is to step down from his role as chief executive and will cease to be a director with immediate effect – but will be available to help ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities.

Regal offerings: new drinks products specifically launched to celebrate the crowing of King Charles III (credit: Getty/CHUNYIP WONG)

New products for King's coronation

Raise a royal glass – new products for the coronation

By Gary Lloyd

To celebrate the King’s coronation, which takes place on Saturday 6 May, plenty of drinks producers are launching products to tie in with the festivities – here are some that could help you boost trade.

Drinks Recovery Tracker: beer, cider, soft drinks and spirits categories in decline as wine sales grow (Credit: Getty/5PH)

Wine sales climb while all other categories fall

By Rebecca Weller

Drinks sales were down across almost all measured categories in the seven days to Saturday 15 April, the latest Drinks Recovery Tracker from CGA by NIQ's has revealed.

Sweet as honey: Britain's top mead producers discuss the future of mead (Getty/ Qwart)

What does the future hold for mead?

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Britain’s largest producers of mead got together to discuss the rise of the drink and its place in the market at the London Barrel Project in Bermondsey last week.

Deep disappointment: Drinks companies react to the Spring Budget (Getty/ andresr)

SPRING BUDGET 2023

Duty hike ‘bitter blow’ for drinks firms

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

The Chancellor announced wine drinkers would be hit by the biggest single duty rise in almost 50 years at yesterday’s Spring Budget, leaving the sector “deeply disappointed”.

Government statement: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt preparing to unveil the Spring Budget (image: Zara Farrar / HM Treasury)

Industry awaits Budget announcement

By Nikkie Thatcher

Operators are waiting to hear what Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has to say in the Spring Budget later today (Wednesday 15 March).

New products: this week's round-up includes new serves from Adnams, Silent Pool and Small Beer Brewery

Adnams releases new cask stout

By Rebecca Weller

This week's new products round up features two new offerings from Adnams, a super-premium gin expression from Silent Pool and a new IPA from Small Beer Brewery alongside Amazon's first wine collection and cask strength whisky from McNair's....

Temporary situation: C&C Group customers unable to place orders for several weeks due to system upgrades

C&C Group clients unable to place orders for weeks

By Rebecca Weller

Customers of drinks distributor C&C Group have been struggling to order stock for several weeks due to “major system upgrades”, forcing some operators to “waste time” scrambling between high-street shops to avoid shortages.

Advice provided: the report shows how operators can identify counterfeit wine and spirits (image: Getty/draghicich)

How to spot fake alcohol

By Nikkie Thatcher

Advice on how to spot fraudulent alcohol has been unveiled in a new report from the Fraud Advisory Panel.

New products: this week's round up features new serves from Uncle Nearest, High Point, Provence Wine, Lockdown Liquor & Co. and Hogs Back

NEW PRODUCTS

Uncle Nearest whiskey launches in the UK

By Rebecca Weller

This week's round up features a UK launch from American whiskey brand Uncle Nearest alongside new products from Hogs Back, Provence Wine, Lockdown Liquor & Co, and High Point.

Drinks advice: as well as policy consultations, this week's legal Q&A also looks at wine measures (image: Getty/alaincouillaud)

Licensing hub - legal with Poppleston Allen

Paying attention to policy consultations

By Suraj Desor, senior associate solicitor, Poppleston Allen

The latest Q&A from legal experts Poppleston Allen looks at policy consultations and wine measures.

Sip and sing: Robbie Williams has reportedly set plans in motion to launch a range of drinks (Getty/ kunst-mp)

Robbie Williams plans to launch drinks range

By Amelie Maurice-Jones

Robbie Williams is reportedly set to rival former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow in the beverage business through launching his own drinks range.

Industry reaction: many from the sector have welcomed the duty freeze extension (image: Getty/MarkWagonerProductions)

Alcohol duty freeze extended

By Nikkie Thatcher

Duty rates on alcohol have been frozen for six months to 1 August 2023, the Government has announced.

Win-win: Majestic Wine announces price freezes for trade customers until Spring 2023 (Credit: Getty/Franek Strzeszewski)

Majestic freezes trade prices

By Rebecca Weller

Majestic Wine has announced price freezes for its on-trade partners until spring next year.

Alcohol-free offer: the roll out will start in 10 of city Pub Group's 45 sites before being expanded further next year

City Pub Group offering alcohol-free wine

By Nikkie Thatcher

Multiple operator City Pub Group has revealed it will launch alcohol-free wine Noughty across a number of its pubs from the new year, with plans to expand the roll out across 2023.

New products: this week's round-up features new serves from Ridgeview, Devon Cove, and Adnams

NEW PRODUCT'S ROUND-UP

Ridgeview announces new sparkling red

By Rebecca Weller

This week's round-up features a new limited-edition serve from Ridgeview and a debut single malt series from Scapegrace Distillery alongside a unique new beer from Scotland.