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.

Wines of Portugal is targeting independent wine merchants in a new push to enthuse the wine trade about the quality and diversity of Portuguese wines.

Gallo will launch Moscato wines under its Gallo Family Vineyards and Barefoot labels next month, the winery has announced.

Codorníu has extended its Anna de Codorníu range with Anna de Codorníu Blanc de Noirs, exclusive to independent wine merchants and the on-trade.

The agency which organised National Wine Month last year has called on the wine trade to ask if wants to continue the initiative this year.

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.

Low-alcohol wine sales in Tesco grew 3.4% to 1.9 million bottles over Christmas 2011, from 1.8 million bottles the year before.

Cono Sur is offering independent wine merchants POS packs with its Sparkling Brut and Sparkling Rosé, in a bid to drive sales for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter.

The body representing vinho verde has launched a major campaign in the UK in a bid to capitalise on growing demand for lighter styles of wine.

Kiwi winemakers are experimenting with Grüner Veltliner – which they believe could be the next big thing from New Zealand.

New Zealand Winegrowers’ Europe director David Cox remains bullish in the face of duty hikes, exchange rate pressures and early reports of a potentially small 2012 vintage, he has told OLN.

Pernod Ricard UK is set to launch a 18.7cl bottle of Brancott Estate.

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

The head of Wine Australia has warned the country stands to lose market share in the UK amid tough conditions driven by exchange rates and pricing pressures.

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

Wines from Brazil is increasing its presence in the UK to grow awareness as it gears up to host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

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

Paul Braydon has joined Guy Anderson Wines as national account manager.

Brand Phoenix and Distell have launched two new sparkling wines.

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

Bibendum is to launch 23 new wineries at its annual trade tasting next week.

Central Otago wine brand Wooing Tree has joined Seckford Agencies’ portfolio.

Regional Spanish wine specialist Exportiberia has opened a UK office.

Blue Nun has launched a low-alcohol range of wines at 5.5% abv.

Thierry’s has made two appointments in its management team.

Argentina specialist Las Bodegas is adding 30 new wines to its portfolio over the next two months – all of them new to the UK.

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.

Jacob’s Creek has signed up tennis star Andre Agassi for a three-year global campaign promoting its wines.

Codorníu has appointed a new UK brand manager as part of a reshuffle in its sales and marketing departments.

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

Accolade Wines has launched a website to help independent convenience stores grow their sales today (January 4).

Fine wine prices fell 15% in 2011, fine wine index Liv-ex has reported.

Pessac-Léognan grand cru estate Château Brown has introduced a Quick Response code for its forthcoming vintages.

Wine sales dropped 3% in the past year and the pace of decline has accelerated this autumn as tax hikes bite, the WSTA has reported.

Enotria buying director Tim Sykes is to succeed Sebastian Payne MW as The Wine Society’s head of buying.

Rising taxes may mean there is no future for wine in the UK, a leading Californian winemaker has warned.

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

Banrock Station Light has teamed up with WeightWatchers as part of a £1 million marketing investment from Accolade Wines.

Jacob’s Creek has created a range of wines made from cool-climate regions and targeted at women.

Brand Phoenix has pledged to cut 50 million units of alcohol from the market over the next three years by growing its low-alcohol Café Collection range and cutting abv levels across the rest of the First Cape portfolio.

Treasury Wine Estates has launched a fine wine business unit for the UK and Ireland, aimed at boosting sales of its regional and premium wines.

Australian Vintage is bringing its McGuigan City Vineyard installation to Dublin during summer 2012. The Australian winery said it will take members of the UK trade to the event, which represents a £250,000 investment.

Inter Beaujolais has launched the second International Gamay Competition.

Accolade Wines is to target independent convenience stores after research revealed they are coming under pressure from multiple rivals.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne has signed a three-year partnership deal with the English National Opera.

Accolade Wines has given Hardys Nottage Hill a new look as part of a £4.5 million investment. 

Wine & Spirit Education Trust chief executive Ian Harris has stepped down as organiser of National Wine Month to concentrate his efforts on the educator's core activities.

Bestway has reviewed its own-label wine brand Cellar Estate and slimmed it down to 65 wines.

Off-Piste Wines has launched a South African brand with a back label that peels off to show information about the region where the wines are grown.

Pernod Ricard UK has launched a five-week TV ad campaign for Jacob’s Creek.

The generic campaign for sherry in the UK has had its budget slashed this year – and its future is hanging in the balance as the Sherry Institute weighs up its options for 2012.

The Wine & Spirit Trade Association has produced a guide to buying wine to help prevent collectors and investors being ripped off by fraudsters.

Wines of Chile has announced the results of its second Independent Wine Merchants Awards. 

Martini has launched its sparkling wine range in 20cl bottles.

English winery Three Choirs Vineyards has produced the first English wine from the 2011 harvest.

Bancroft Wines has signed up Croatian producer Matošević, and is now its exclusive UK agent. 

The Peter Lehmann range of wines from Australia’s Barossa Valley has been revamped for the first time since it launched 30 years ago.

The wine trade has agreed on an international system for calculating carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.

Moët & Chandon has been signed up as the official Champagne of the tennis ATP World Tour.

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

OLN’s Tim Atkin MW has relaunched his website.

Generic body Sud de France is to hold an organic and biodynamic wine tasting this month.

Stevens Garnier has been bought by Portugal-based producer Sogrape and has appointed a new managing director.

Low and no-alcohol wine sales are growing rapidly from a small base and getting close to 1 million cases, according to the latest figures from Nielsen.

The Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux has teamed up with comedian Dom Joly to produce a series of videos.

Wine Rack has unveiled a range review with 80-plus new wines at a press tasting in London today.

Lindeman’s has added a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to its international Winemaker’s Discovery range.

South African winery Linton Park has rebranded its Louis Fourie 1699 range for the UK market, and will be launching it with new agent Chalié Richards next month.

Mont Tauch has launched a sustainably produced single vineyard Fitou in Marks & Spencer. 

Free Run Wines and Felix Solis Avantis have launched a range of Spanish whites from Rueda. 

The head of the consortium that protects Prosecco sparkling Italian wine from Conegliano Valdobbiadene is to address delegates at the International Sparkling Wine Symposium (ISWS), which takes place at Denbies wine estate in the UK on November 1-2.

Accolade Wines has launched an off-trade push for Stone’s Original ginger wine in the run-up to Christmas.

Gallo Family Vineyards has announced a partnership to launch the world’s first-ever scented nail wrap.

Deep discounting on wine by UK retailers may be having less impact on consumer behaviour, according to a new report.

Percy Fox, Diageo’s UK wine division, has announced the death of Blossom Hill winemaker Carol Thorup, who passed away on 5 September at the age of 57 from cancer.

New Zealand’s Ara Wines has launched One Estate, a sparkling wine made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

The Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 Index fell by 6.35% at the end of September compared to the month before and is down 4.05% for the year to date – but has grown 4.72% year-on-year.

The UK has consolidated its position as Spanish wine’s number two export market, behind Germany.

Alcohol-free wine Eisberg has launched a campaign aimed at pregnant women.

Bottle Green has been appointed as the UK partner for French wine brand Barton & Guestier.

Campo Viejo is sponsoring the seventh London Spanish Film Festival.

Spar is launching a new exclusive label wine called Falcon Valley.

South African winery Linton Park has named Chalié Richards as its UK agent.

The government says it is not considering levying higher taxes on more alcoholic wines.

Almost half of the UK public believes that water is added to grapes to make wine, according to research commissioned by Spar.

Sainsbury’s is doubling the number of branches offering a fine wine range following a surge in demand.

The South African wine industry has attacked the “questionable” methods used by Human Rights Watch in its damning assessment of the way workers are treated in the country’s wine farms.

Beaujolais has created an iPhone app promoting the region, hot on the heels of the launch of its iPad magazine and the release of GPS audio-guided tours.

Faustino V Reserva has been given a facelift to coincide with a new blend for the Rioja brand.

A thousand pairs of tickets to the Ideal Home Show are up for grabs in a new promotion for Harveys Bristol Cream.

Singer and Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon has been named as the brand ambassador for First Cape’s Café Collection wine range.

Southern French producer LGI-Alain Grignon Wines has added a Minervois to its Manoir Grignon range.

Bottle Green has ended its quest for a New Zealand partner with the addition of Toi Toi Wines to its portfolio.

Fifteen retailers have signed up to the UK’s first ever Riesling Week, a promotion which began in the US in 2005.

London restaurant operator D&D is planning to open a fine wine store in the City as part of the redevelopment of a building originally created by the East India Company.

Venus wine buyer Ashika Mathews has joined the Antique Wine Company as director of purchasing.

Accolade Wines has issued a bullish statement about its ambitions in the UK in the week that the company abandoned its old name, Constellation Wines Australia & Europe.

Pernod Ricard UK has unveiled a marketing campaign around Brancott Estate’s sponsorship of Rugby World Cup 2011.

Constellation Wines’ Gran Tierra wine range has been extended with a new rosé.

California wine brand Gallo Family Vineyards has signed Sugababe Heidi Range for a marketing campaign for its new Summer Red wine.

Jacob’s Creek is capitalising on its partnership with the Wimbledon tennis championships with a burst of marketing activity.

Banrock Station has been given a new look, which producer Constellation Wines hopes will reinforce its environmental credentials.

CYT has launched a consumer campaign for Isla Negra, tapping into the current popularity of seaside holidays in the UK.

Treasury Wine Estates has produced a guide to selling wine for impulse retailers.

Gallo has launched a campaign pairing its Turning Leaf brand with food.

Spar has revamped its British fortified wine range to give it a more contemporary look and bring it into line with the rest of the Spar own-label range, which has been redesigned recently.

House Of Townend has officially opened its new head office and bonded warehouse.

Police in London have made two arrests following the theft of wine valued at up to £1 million.

Visitor numbers at last week’s London International Wine fair were on a par with the 2010 total, according to figures released by organiser Brintex.

The number of people who drink wine regularly has stabilised in the wake of massive growth over the past 25 years, and the amount they drink is not likely to increase further, Wine Intelligence research has found.

Percy Fox has launched a category communication strategy for its range of 18.7cl bottles.

Wines of South Africa is rebranding its biennial Mega Tasting in London as Cape Wine Europe.

Sancerre producer Fouassier has named Free Run Wines as its new UK partner, replacing PLB.

Independent wine merchants are being encouraged to team up with local restaurants to host a Bordeaux Dinner – and will receive £250 to help plan and run the event.

Echo Falls is back on TV with some new mini-ads, created for its sponsorship of Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me programme.

The Wine Society is abandoning screwcap closures for a popular sparkling wine in its range following negative comments from members.

Tuscan wine producer Piccini has launched a new wine blended from grapes grown across Italy.

Taylor’s Croft and Fonseca ports have all declared the 2009 vintage – the fourth declaration by owner the Fladgate Partnership this decade.

Naked Wines has teamed up with TV’s Sarah Beeny as the official wine partner of her property-based tepilo.com website and her dating service mysinglefriend.com.

Online wine retailer FindWine.co.uk has named Richard Saxton as its new reviewer.

Blue Nun has signed a sponsorship deal with TCM, the digital film channel.

Hambledon Vineyard has raised £3.5 million with its share issue – slightly less than its £4 million target.

Independent retailers have received financial help to promote Portuguese wines during National Wine Month.

Fine wine supplier Armit has taken on the exclusive UK agency for Chile’s Matetic Vineyards.

A new online service has been founded specialising in selling Hungarian wines.

Treasury Wine Estates has launched a rosé wine brand exclusively for the impulse retail trade.

Chianti producer Sorelli has joined Bottle Green’s portfolio.

Concha y Toro has agreed a deal with Brown-Forman for Californian wine producer Fetzer.

Oddbins has hired a business restructuring consultancy to discuss the future of the business.

Berberana supplier United Wineries has named Robert Rand as national account manager.

Waitrose is to give 10% of the retail price of eight wines to Comic Relief’s Wine Relief fund.