Natalie Wilson, Author at The Buyer

By Dan Hooper on June 29, 2022

Dan Hoper from Yes More drinks marketing agency

Yes More’s Dan Hooper: are drinks brands up for a refillable revolution?

“Packaging, branding, and design matter. Pouring a whisky – getting your favourite glass out…remembering who you last shared it with, or who bought it for you. The label, the selection. The clink of the bottle on the glass. They’re all part of the process,” says Dan Hooper, co-founder of Yes More the drinks brand marketing agency. So how do big brands take the plunge and switch to more sustainable packaging, and even introduce refillable schemes? Hooper looks at what attempts are being made to transform drinks packaging and whether consumers actually like what they are being offered.

Posted In: dan hopper, drinks brands, johnnie walker, slider, spirits, whisky, yes more

Tasting: Wine

By David Kermode on June 29, 2022

How Decanted Hungary focused on the country’s top medal winners

Decanted Hungary was a small, focused tasting aimed at giving a snapshot of where Hungarian wine currently is at – as seen through the lens of the recent Decanter World Wine Awards. Wines on show were only ones which had won Best in Show, Platinum and Gold medals with Caroline Gilby MW explaining the rationale and David Kermode picking his 10 favourites from the range.

Posted In: David Kermode, decanter world wine awards, Hungarian wine, Hungary Decanted, slider

People People: Supplier

By Richard Siddle on June 28, 2022

Lucie Parker on why she has joined Jeroboams at just the right time

No matter how well you know the wine industry and established you are in your role it is always a leap of faith, and risk, to move one from position to another. Particularly when you have been in your previous role for over nine years. But when the opportunity came up to be trade director for Jeroboams wholesale division Lucie Parker jumped at the chance. Here she talks to Richard Siddle about how excited she is about this new opportunity.

Posted In: Jeroboams, Lucie Parker, slider, wine, wine distributor, wine merchants, wine retailer, wine wholesaler

Insight

By Richard Siddle on June 27, 2022

Vinexposium: How digitalisation of wine is transforming the industry

You can have all the zooms in the world but when it comes to discussing, analysing and digesting some of the biggest issues facing the global wine industry nothing quite beats having those debates face to face. Which is why last week’s Symposium ‘Act for Change’, organised by Vinexposium, at the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux, was so welcome and turned out to be an important opportunity for both the industry’s leading establishment figures and new disruptors in the sector to come together and plot a path for the rest of the sector to follow. Be it with the major issues such as sustainability, climate change, global economics, supply chain, or the the actual nitty gritty of sourcing, distributing and selling wine, be it through traditional retail routes, or increasingly through ever more personalised and recommendation based wine e-commerce platforms. That’s where our first analysis from the Symposium is focused. Just what does the boom in e-commerce mean for the wine industry and how well equipped is it to make the most of it?

Posted In: commerce, digital, Liv-ex, slider, vinexpo, wine, wine online

Tasting: Wine

By Roger Jones on June 25, 2022

Roger Jones on the best Victoria wines, producers & regions

Although Victoria is Australia’s second smallest state it has more wine regions and individual wineries than any other; and there is such a diversity of climates here that every imaginable grape variety can be grown and almost every style of wine made. Australian wine expert Roger Jones gets under the skin of the many wine regions and highlights some of the many excellent producers and wines that you can discover here.

Posted In: australia, roger jones, victoria wines, wine

Insight

By Richard Siddle on June 25, 2022

How to be loved through digital & social media: One Step Beyond

If you want to build a successful brand or consumer facing drinks business you need to get your digital and social media strategy right. At least that’s what all the management consultants will tell you. But what does that actually mean in reality and how much money does it cost to build a brand online, and which social media platform should you be investing in. The next One Step Beyond webinar, hosted by The Buyer and Sophie Jump, looks to bring together digital and brand experts from both inside and outside the drinks industry to give an insiders view on what it takes to succeed in the digital world.

Posted In: . lucky saint, Aquilini beverage group, data, freixenet copestick, one step beyond, pix, social media, stranger & stranger, wine, yes more

Tasting: Wine

By Roger Jones on June 24, 2022

Roger Jones on 13 vintages of Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage

The oft-maligned grape variety Pinotage, is slowly regaining the recognition it deserves. Much of that change in perspective is down to the work of Kanonkop and its winemaker Abrie Beeslaar who visited London last month to present 13 vintages of its outstanding Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage from the years 2006 through to the current vintage of 2019. Chef and wine expert Roger Jones caught up with Beeslaar, the Krige brothers and tasted through the wines.

Posted In: Kanonkop, Kanonkop Black Label Pinotage, pinotage, roger jones

Tasting: Wine

By Justin Keay on June 23, 2022

Justin Keay on the enduring appeal of Wirra Wirra

The 2022 vintage of Wirra Wirra’s Church Block will be its 50th – quite a remarkable success story for a wine that has become McLaren Vale’s top selling wine. Justin Keay looks at the wine and the winery’s appeal, tastes through the range of new wines, and sees how Wirra Wirra is defined by its past as it has all eyes set on the future.

Posted In: Church Block, Justin Keay, McLaren Vale, Wirra Wirra

Insight

By Richard Siddle on June 23, 2022

Codorniu Cava Debate: What styles & price points work best?

In part two of The Buyer’s debate, in partnership with Raventós Codorníu and Raimat, the panel of leading buyers had the opportunity to taste through a selection of Cavas to examine the quality and the step changes at differences price points and to examine where they might sit in the UK market. It was also an opportunity to examine the sustainability steps being taken with Cava and how important sustainability now is in the buying decisions being made by the panel of buyers.

Posted In: Cava, raiment, Raventós Codorníu, sparkling wine, sustainability, uk wine buyers