New Zealand winemaker Rod Easthope, who recently resigned as chief winemaker of Craggy Range, will make an exclusive range of wines for Naked Wines in a £300,000 project.

The Wine Institute of California and Off Licence News are giving independents the chance to win a trip to the Golden State and an Enomatic wine sampling machine.

Spirited Wines, the company which bought the Nicolas shops outside London in 2010, has bought the remaining Nicolas estate from French wine company Castel.

Asda has insisted that a wine it has been selling for £2.48 is not selling for less than duty plus VAT.

Off Licence News is launching a raft of activity at this year’s London International Wine Fair to increase the show’s appeal to independent retailers and help maximise its business-building potential.

Sainsbury’s has started the year on the hunt for a new wine chief after two high-profile team members announced their departures. 

Tesco is hoping to steal a march on rivals by becoming the first retailer to list a new range of lower-strength beers.

Sainsbury’s winemaker Clem Yates MW is leaving the retailer to join Off-Piste Wines as sourcing and supply director.

The Wine Society has appointed Berry Bros & Rudd chief operating officer Robin McMillan as its new chief executive.

Xenia Irwin MW is to leave Spar to become commercial manager at ABS Wine Agencies.

Majestic’s sales grew 8.4% over the nine weeks of Christmas trading from November 1 to January 2, the retailer has reported.

Sainsbury’s is running an in-store campaign to raise awareness of alcohol units, promote lighter-style wines and encourage consumers to manage their drinking responsibly.

The Oxford Wine Co has appointed Marcia Waters MW as wine buyer.

A Naked Wines ad offering its customers their money back has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Booker is launching a campaign that aims to draw 2 million extra shoppers to independent retailers.

Thomas Woolrych, currently head of buying at Laithwaites, has been promoted to the role of wine director for the company’s US business.

One in five off-licences targeted by Trading Standards officers in Warwickshire was selling alcohol suspected to be fake or illicit.

Sainsbury’s is tipping gin as a top-selling spirit this Christmas.

Morrisons is trialling a range of new initiatives to make its drinks aisles more accessible.

Asda was selling £10 bottles of Champagne this week as the supermarkets’ battle for hard-up consumers’ Christmas drinks budgets hotted up.

Oddbins is giving away turkeys this Christmas.

Majestic is broadcasting its first ever TV ads in a pilot scheme to attract supermarket wine shoppers.

Wine Rack has opened a shop in Radlett, Hertfordshire – bringing its estate to 21 shops.

Oddbins is enlisting the help of consumers to select a mixed case of wines for Christmas.

Majestic has grown pre-tax profits by 20% to £8.8 million in the half-year to September 26 – but saw like-for-like sales in shops drop for the six weeks after the period ended, it has reported.

Stores are preparing themselves for a bleak Christmas as economic indicators show poor retail footfall and low consumer confidence.

Naked Wines has been named the UK’s Online Business of the Year at the National Business Awards 2011.

Supermarket trading slowed in October, suggesting that shoppers are holding off Christmas shopping in the hope of getting better deals closer to the festive season, according to Nielsen.

Oddbins has put three wines priced by its customers in a blind tasting on shelves today (November 4).

Wine Rack will fall short of its planned target of reaching 30 stores by the end of 2010.

The newly relaunched Oddbins chain is exploring sites as it considers expanding next year. 

Nicolas is gearing up for its annual wine and spirits fair on November 11-12.

September’s record-breaking temperatures have given the drinks sector a huge boost, pepping up a tough summer for sales.

Sainsbury’s new BWS chief has pledged to deliver more consistency across its retail channels and put a greater emphasis on consumer needs.

Drinks retailers remain attractive investment prospects despite the economic conditions, according to Majestic’s chief executive Steve Lewis.

Waitrose will be making its drinks range as diverse and premium as possible as it rolls out its Little Waitrose smaller-format convenience stores.

Sheffield wine merchant Michael Menzel has died aged 70, after a battle with cancer.

Retailers who benefit from the proposed minimum pricing legislation in Scotland should have a windfall tax imposed on them, according to a leading Scottish Conservative.

Alcohol Concern claims to have found a link between the density of off-licences and under-age drinking.

The government needs to do more to promote town centre shopping and place less emphasis on out-of-town retail parks, the Association of Convenience Stores says.

Shop rents are falling in real terms and landlords are taking an increasingly flexible approach, according to new data.

Waitrose has created a new wine-buying role – responsible for Italian, bag-in-box, small bottle and low alcohol wines.

Pubs are closing at the rate of 25 a week, with off-trade competition blamed for much of the sector’s woes.

Spirited Wines – the chain that has taken over all the Nicolas shops outside London – has launched a mobile marketing campaign to raise its profile in mobile search engines.

Asda has appointed Tracy Ford as its new category director for BWS, replacing Adrian McKeon who was recently promoted to commercial director for grocery.

Cardiff independent wine merchant Ballantynes has closed after 33 years of trading.

Supermarkets deemed to be running irresponsible deals on alcohol could find investment withdrawn by the Church of England.

Online wine retailer FindWine has announced a number of sponsorships it says will fit in with its “colourful and offbeat” reputation.

Tesco expects to attract over 10,000 customers to its five wine fairs this autumn.

Sainsbury’s has named a successor to the current head of its drinks team, Justin James, who has been given a new role within the business.

A further 29 closed Oddbins stores across the country are being marketed for sale by Christie & Co.

Edinburgh-based retailer Royal Mile Whiskies is opening a new shop under the banner of The Drinkmonger.

Fifty-five Oddbins branches are being sold by Christie & Co on behalf of the off-licence chain’s administrators, Deloitte.

Oddbins has formally gone into administration with Deloitte partners Lee Manning and Matthew Smith appointed as joint administrators.

Tesco has reshuffled its wine team so that buyers are focusing on product types rather than countries of origin, and has recruited two new buyers.

The Association of Convenience Stores has teamed up with Crimestoppers to offer a reward for information which helps catch the gunmen who critically injured a five-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man in south London.

Licensing fees look set to rise under new guidance to councils being drawn up by the government.

Laithwaites Wine has named Glenn Caton as its new UK managing director.