The Winery Exchange has released a range of 5.5% abv wine-based RTDs into the off-trade.

Heineken has added a Dark Fruit flavor variant to the Strongbow line-up and it will be exclusive to the off-trade from June.

The average cost of a bottle of wine has risen to its highest-ever figure of £5.11 on the back of escalating taxation – but there are signs consumers are still prepared to trade up, according to new Nielsen data.

The Co-operative Group’s new wine boss plans to move away from discounts and overhaul its own-label range.

Oddbins is set to undergo its first overhaul in 17 years with a new look across stores as its owner pledges to make the chain profitable by 2015.

Tesco has launched a website that allows customers to buy cases of wine at discount prices through an emerging e-commerce model called co-buying.

Suppliers have reignited the debate over the approach taken by retailers’ buying teams with calls for them to spend more time in-store and less at head office or visiting wineries abroad.

Australian Vintage has vowed to put Aussie Riesling in the spotlight in a bid to revive the varietal on the back of its successful repositioning of Semillion.

Selfridges promises its customers “an Aladdin’s cave of new, boutique, exclusive one-off products and gifts” after opening a new wine store.

Westons Cider has introduced a price-marked pack for Stowford Press to build on volume growth of 69% in the off-trade (IRI Volume MAT to April 27, 2013).

Sainsbury’s has upped the ante in the own-label wine battleground with the launch of the next phase of its Winemakers’ Selection range.

Wine Australia’s chief executive Andrew Cheesman has resigned to “pursue other opportunities within the wine sector”.

C&C has reported a small decrease in net revenue for the business year to the end of February 2013 but operating profit rose 2.4 per cent.

Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has bought a 6.5ha vineyard in Bel Air, California, for a fee believed to be in the region of £19 million. 

HMRC officers raided 49 off licences in Edinburgh and seized 5,641 litres of counterfeit booze. 

Portman Group chairman Seymour Fortescue will step down on 18 June after four years in the role.

Winemaker Katie Jones has started believing in angels after 2,500 Naked Wines customers came to her rescue when vandals destroyed her entire white vintage.

Laithwaite’s Wine has signed former England cricket captain David Gower as its new brand ambassador.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt insists the omission of minimum unit pricing laws from the Queen’s speech does not amount to a final nail in the coffin for the planned legislation.

Leading South African producers have urged the country’s generic wine body to review its marketing message and recruit from overseas as the hunt begins for its new head.

Tesco is offering visitors to this month’s London International Wine Fair the chance to pitch new ideas to its buying team in a repeat of its “speed-dating” style activity.

Global sensations The Three Tons of Fun have been confirmed as the headline entertainment for the Off Licence News and Origin Wines VIP industry bash taking place at this month’s London International Wine Fair.

Paul Walsh, Diageo chief executive of 13 years, will step down within two months and hand over power to the firm’s chief operating officer Ivan Menezes.

The London International Wine Fair will return to Kensington Olympia in 2014, with cheaper rates designed to attract exhibitors that have deserted the event in recent years.

Retailers can add £480 million to the convenience channel by improving their spirits ranges, according to First Drinks.

Lambrini is to be the broadcast sponsor of the British Soap Awards which will be screened live on ITV in May.

Macallan has released three malt whiskies to complete the line-up of its new 1824 Series.

Off-trade beer sales stabilised in the first quarter of 2013 after three successive quarters of decline.

Fuller’s has introduced a new-look for its premium bottled ales range, led by London Pride.

The firm behind energy drink Pussy has been banned from running an ad that was deemed sexually explicit, derogatory, sexist and degrading to women.

Wines of South Africa chief Su Birch has announced she is stepping down after 14 years in the job. 

Pernod Ricard UK is launching a £6.99 price marked pack for its Campo Viejo Rioja brand.

The Chancellor’s decision to cut beer tax but overlook wine and spirits has unfairly penalised women, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

Retailers are being urged to keep tighter controls on the way managers and staff use social media sites after Oddbins landed in hot water over a Twitter post following the death of Margaret Thatcher.

Innis & Gunn plans to drive growth in the craft and speciality beer category by helping smaller brewers get their products on to supermarket shelves.

Diageo is launching a special-edition version of Pimm’s to inject fresh appeal into the quintessential summer drink brand and sustain sales regardless of the weather.

The head of the body which represents small retailers has vowed that fighting local restrictions on off-licence numbers will be a key political objective for the year ahead.

Heineken will brew, sell and distribute Kingfisher in the UK from October.

The Portman Group has urged retailers not to stock Jody Scheckter’s Laverstoke Park Farm Ale and Lager after the former Formula 1 champion ignored the group’s ruling that the packaging must be altered.

A row has broken out over the latest ad from JTI in its fight against plain packaging for tobacco products.

Global Brands is launching a 50cl version of VK Blue into the off-trade.

A leading producer believes favourable currency rates mean South African wines can now beat the likes of Australia in offering “exceptional value for money” at all price points.

Retailers can receive tips on issues like range and layout by visiting a new website from Diageo called My Store Matters.

South African wine and spirits producer Distell has paid £160 million to buy Scotch whisky firm Burn Stewart Distillers.

Drinks charity Drinkaware said visits to its website received a sharp spike after a story broke suggesting Britons fail to report their true alcohol intake.

Ninety-three wines selected by The Wine Gang from a south west France tasting of more than 200 wines will be promoted in the UK.

An early Easter drove a 12% rise in BWS value sales at the major multiples during the four weeks to March 30 (Nielsen, compared to the same period in 2012).

A new gin is being launched into the off-trade aimed at men.

A new study suggests that Britain could join New Zealand, the Netherlands, China and Tasmania as the world’s foremost wine growing regions by 2050 if climate change continues.

Accolade’s plan to increase its presence in the ultra-premium wine market has gathered pace with the news that Majestic will stock its Eileen Hardy Chardonnay. 

A Lidl store has seen a five-day ban on alcohol sales overturned after emerging victorious from a long-running battle with Glasgow’s Licensing Board.

Smirnoff is returning to TV screens this month as part of a new £2.5 million ad campaign.

Leading wine suppliers have criticised the skills of supermarket buyers, claiming lack of experience is damaging the industry’s ability to trade sustainably as market pressures intensify.

Growth in wines sales through convenience stores is outpacing the rest of the off-trade as the roll-out of supermarkets’ smaller store formats gathers speed and cash-strapped shoppers shun the big weekly shop.

Ex Formula 1 racing driver Jody Scheckter has refused to alter the packaging for his Laverstoke Park beer range despite a ruling from the Portman Group’s independent complaints panel that it could appeal to children.

A drop in price promotions and falling own-label sales has led to a 3.3% decline in Champagne as Lanson urged retailers to give shoppers more information about styles and tastes on shelf.

The leader of a team that has staged a management buyout at one of the UK’s best-known wine suppliers has pledged that it will be “business as usual”.

FE Barber aims to become the UK’s biggest wine supplier by offering retailers a “one-stop shop” and targeting younger consumers with bright bottles, quirky brands and social media.

Diageo has named Teaninich, near Alness in the Highlands, as the preferred location for a new malt whisky distillery.

Fuller’s has appointed group managing director Simon Emeny as its chief executive, with effect from July 1.

Aston Manor has signalled its confidence in the future of the UK’s cider market by investing £2.5 million in 1,000 acres of new orchards in Herefordshire.

Glucose stimulant drinks, flavoured water and “cold hot drinks” were the bright spots in the soft drinks market in 2012, according to a new market report from Pepsi and J2O supplier Britvic.

Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands is relaunching a Southern Comfort TV ad in which a barrel-chested man with a round belly and mob-displeasing swimming trunks saunters along a beach. 

Accolade is launching three varietal wines under its Geyser Peak Californian wine brand, which have been specifically developed for the UK consumer’s palate.

Malibu is launching a £12.99 price marked pack for its 70cl bottle of coconut-flavoured rum.

Gaymers has added a pear cider blended with pineapple, mango and passion fruit flavours to its range.

The advertising industry has branded calls to ban alcohol ads and sponsorship in the UK “lazy and naïve”.

Vin de France has urged retailers to put French wines on gondola ends as often as possible in a bid to attract younger drinkers with wines in the £5-8 bracket.

Cellier les Dauphins has launched a Côtes du Rhône Blanc to capitalise on the success of its red wines from the region.

Perrier-Jouët has launched a limited-edition metalwork Champagne “flute tree” from award-winning Dutch designer Tord Boontje.

David Cox has taken over as chief executive of drinks industry charity The Benevolent in a bid to help trade members that have fallen on hard times.

The Co-operative Group has appointed Morrisons buyer Simon Cairns as the new head of its wine team.

A leading brewer believes the UK’s premium bottled ale market will double in value over the next five years.

Entries are now open for this year’s International Beer Challenge, organised by Off Licence News. 

Costcutter and Palmer & Harvey have formed a joint venture company with a combined buying power of £5 billion in a deal designed to counter the increasing power of the supermarkets.