Decanter reports that Christie’s charity auction of rare wines from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s cellar raised £517,910 for The Music in Secondary Schools Trust, with every lot sold and hammer proceeds going to a programme providing instruments, tuition and classical music education in schools. Highlights included a Château Margaux 1900 that sold for £35,000 and three bottles of Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 2005 that sold for £56,250 including buyer’s premium.
Simon Judge
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Bordeaux Unveils Modernisation Drive
The drinks business reports that Bordeaux has set out a modernisation push focused on sustainability, newer wine styles and UK-facing activity as the region marks 90 years as an AOC. The update highlights growth in Crémant de Bordeaux, lighter bottles, refreshed packaging, and a 2026 UK programme including London Wine Fair and The Big Feastival.
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Viña Concha y Toro Hit By US Weakness
Global Drinks Intel reports that Viña Concha y Toro’s first quarter sales fell 7.8% to CLP192.61bn, while quarterly wine volumes dropped 6.8%. The decline was led by the US, where sales fell 32.2% and volumes dropped 30.1%, although the company said it had made progress on premiumisation and portfolio rationalisation.
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Europe’s Wine Sector Faces Slow Digital Transformation
AgTechNavigator reports that European wine is adopting more digital tools, but real transformation is being slowed by tradition, fragmented technology, connectivity gaps and long investment cycles. WineWayLab organiser Timofey Golovin argues that many wineries are adding sensors and dashboards without fundamentally changing production systems, while climate volatility, labour shortages and new regions such as the UK, Scandinavia and Belgium are increasing the pressure to adopt robotics, AI and precision viticulture more deeply.
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WSET Drops Greek Goddess From Logo
The Drinks Business reports that WSET is removing Ariadne from its logo and introducing a simplified identity as part of a broader brand overhaul. The updated look includes a new strapline, Global Drinks Education, reflecting WSET’s expansion beyond wine into spirits, sake and beer, with refreshed digital branding and redesigned student pins also planned.
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DWWA 2026 Judging Begins in London
Decanter reports that judging has begun for the Decanter World Wine Awards 2026 in London, with more than 16,700 wines from 57 countries being assessed by 246 judges from 36 nations. The competition runs across two weeks, with Bronze, Silver and Gold judging from 4 to 8 May, followed by Platinum and Best in Show judging from 11 to 15 May, while this year also brings new leadership, a larger cohort of women judges and expanded sustainability measures including reusable cotton bags, cork collection and wine waste processing through anaerobic digestion.
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Restaurant Wine Sales Fall As Value Leads US Growth
The Drinks Business reports that US on-trade wine sales have fallen by about 26% since 2019, but growth is still appearing in value-driven, white and sparkling wine categories. The report says restaurants and sommeliers are responding to tighter consumer budgets by offering more accessible pricing, flexible pour sizes and less familiar regions, with examples including Loire Sauvignon Blanc, Mendoza Malbec, Rías Baixas, Baga and Graciano.
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Australia Details New Mandatory Wine Grape Code Of Conduct
ABC Rural reports that Australia’s federal government has released details of a mandatory wine grape code of conduct, due to take effect on 1 January 2027. The code will require wineries to publish payment terms, face monitoring of payment practices and allow anonymous complaints from growers, though some industry voices say it does not yet solve deeper oversupply and ageing-grower pressures.
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Australia Considers Turning Surplus Wine Into Fuel
News.com.au reports that Australia’s Nationals are pushing a wine-to-fuel plan to help ease the country’s wine oversupply crisis, with around 262 million litres of surplus wine recorded by Wine Australia as of December 2025. The proposal would explore converting excess wine into ethanol for sustainable aviation fuel or renewable diesel, though industry figures warn wider support is still needed for struggling growers.
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Chapel Down Sells One Million Bottles Of English Sparkling Wine
The Times reports that Chapel Down sold more than one million bottles of English sparkling wine in 2025, a milestone for the UK’s largest winemaker as it targets 1% of the global Champagne market by 2035. Revenue rose 19% to £19.4 million, helped by supermarket growth, international sales and partnerships including Ascot and the England and Wales Cricket Board.
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Ocado Data Shows Mid-Strength Wine Demand Rising
Harpers reports that Ocado data shows mid-strength drinks demand is growing sharply, with category sales up 71% over two years and searches up more than 400%. Mid-strength wine was singled out as especially strong, with sales up 151% year on year, as consumers increasingly look to moderate rather than cut out alcohol.
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Grupo Peñaflor Owner Acquires Off-Piste Wines
The Drinks Business reports that Terold Invest, owner of Argentina’s Grupo Peñaflor, has acquired UK wholesaler Off-Piste Wines, owner of brands including Most Wanted and The Wanderer. The deal is positioned as a strategic push into the UK, with Off-Piste selling around 3 million nine-litre cases a year and the combined business expected to become a top-five supplier to the UK off-trade.
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France to Uproot 28,000 Hectares Of Vines
The Drinks Business reports that France is preparing to remove around 28,000 hectares of vineyard under a state backed programme designed to rebalance supply and demand. Around 5,800 growers have applied for support, with the pressure most visible in south western regions and red grape plantings, while some producers are expected to leave wine production entirely.
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The Hidden Cost of Buying Wine en Primeur
Wine Anorak dismantles the romantic idea that en primeur buying automatically pays off, arguing that collectors often forget inflation, annual storage charges, and the opportunity cost of tying money up for years. Jamie Goode runs a worked example of a £1,200 case bought 15 years ago, showing how inflation pushes that to £1,897, storage can lift it to about £2,107, and a modest ETF comparison makes the wine look poor financially, leading him to conclude that, for most buyers, the secondary market now makes more sense than buying futures.
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Andrew Lloyd Webber to Sell Rest of Wine Collection at Auction
The Drinks Business reports that Christie’s will sell the final tranche of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wine collection, with proceeds going to the Music in Secondary Schools Trust. The bottles come from the cellars at Sydmonton Court, some having been held for more than 50 years, and the sale follows the disposal of most of his collection back in 2011. Beyond the celebrity angle, it shows how elite private cellars continue to supply the fine wine auction market, with provenance and philanthropy adding extra pull for bidders.