Talented winegrower Andre Castan runs the family estate.  He has a passion for making delicious wines with great style, strong identities and authenticity.  Expect fresh aromatic, crisp and fruity whites, succulent rosés, moreish, rich and full bodied reds, all offering great balance and finesse.

“Valerie Castan, Andre’s daughter has recently moved back to the Languedoc to work at the estate after a decade spent in Manchester, her spiritual home.  However she will be flying specially to the UK to be with us at the SITT tastings and to introduce the full range.  Her wines offer both on and off trade value and great pleasure, ensuring high repeat purchases.”

Peter Osborne Fine Wines are pleased to be associated with Domaine Castan, authentic and unique wines not seen in this country before. Yet another UK exclusive for them!

Giorgio Clai

Moreno Coronica

PC Wines’ determination to make Croatian grape varieties household names is apparent in their passion for their specialist subject.

Motovun

Enomatic UK will arrange installation and training and two bottles of gas to cover the trial period. They will also cover all maintenance of the units and their support team will be on hand to help with any queries.

Should the lucky winners wish to purchase an enomatic after the trial has finished they will receive a 25% discount of the list price of any system they choose.

All you have to do is pre-register online for either show and turn up on the day. Your name will then be automatically entered into the prize draw.

If you win we’ll be in touch the week after the show to tell you the good news!

Southern Rhône

This grouping of 80 growers based in the heart of Vacqueyras produces exceptional wines from appellations across the Southern Rhône including the Gigondas which received the highest mark in Jancis Robinson’s review of 2010 Southern Rhône reds.

Prepared by award winning chef Denis Moreau from the L’Eloge restaurant in Vacqueyras and hosted in London with a specially created menu complemented by wines from the Vignerons de Caractère range featuring traditional pairings and some fabulous re-interpretations of classic dishes.

This is a wonderful opportunity for you to entertain valued customers, incentivise staff and learn more about Charles Taylor Wines Southern Rhône producers.

The first 10 customers to open an account with Hatch Mansfield will receive 12 bottles for the price of 11 on each wine purchased. This is to provide a free tasting sample to help customers establish the wine in their outlet.

Surprisingly, despite the economic doom and gloom, Champagne was one of the biggest sellers here throughout Christmas and the new year. Perhaps not the big brand names, but our house Champagne was flying out fast. I think people were trying to rid themselves of the flavour of recession, by saying “let’s chill out and relax”. A lot of people were also buying sparkling wine.

The amount people drink hasn’t gone down, instead their drinking habits have moved towards better and wiser choices. People are asking far more for recommendations, which is really refreshing for us, especially from the younger generation in the 25 to 45 age group. They listen to what you’re saying and want to know more.

People are also beginning to realise that sommeliers are not just there to take your money. It’s a good feeling to realise they appreciate what you do and are happy to ask for recommendations, it makes our job far more interesting and fun.

There are a lot of good-value wines coming from the south of France at the moment and people are noticing it is far better value than Bordeaux. We have some Languedoc-Roussillon 2001 to 2005 vintages that are maturing very nicely and are on at a reasonable price around the £30-£50 mark.

We’ve had a lot more take-out requests, too. I think the 2012 trends will move toward wines with a more delicate structure and away from heavy tannins. People want something to lift them and make them smile at the table, rather than the reverse.

Seasons are becoming much more important in the industry and consumers are also beginning to understand the benefits of working with seasonal produce and drinking seasonal wines. A lot of that is to do with television programmes and newspaper articles. If you are honest in what you give your customers, recession isn’t an issue to them and they will continue to come and support you. What’s important to them is honesty, combined with quality food, freshness and good service.

Harpers convened a steering group of members, comprising suppliers and independent merchants, surveyed the sector and developed a set of guidelines to help ensure greater transparency between the two groups.

Here’s how you can sign up to the Harpers’ Merchants Best Practice Guidelines, make your pledges and then ensure your customers know you have by asking for the Harpers media promotions toolkit.

The Seven Pledges

1. Suppliers that want to publicly endorse the Harpers’ Merchants Best Practice Guidelines should commit themselves to these principles and conduct a transparent relationship with their customers in the independent sector.
2. That these suppliers commit to a transparent independent merchant strategy which makes clear which channels of distribution they are trading in. This should be made available on request
   to individual wine merchants.
3. Independent merchants can request information from these suppliers on an individual basis about which channel of distribution the wines and spirits they are interested in stocking are distributed in.
4. Sales representatives of these suppliers must be made aware of their distribution strategy covering independent wine merchants.
5. These suppliers should, on request from an independent wine merchant, be able to set out how this strategy is managed within their company and understood by their own sales staff.
   That training and information is being provided on these suppliers’ distribution management strategy to sales staff.
6. That these suppliers should inform affected independent merchants if the distribution management strategy for a particular wine or spirit changes.

What’s in it for me?

SUPPLIERS

Laurie Webster, Las Bodegas
“The guidelines have given us a good opportunity to underline what we are doing already to a large extent. The Harpers Debate has reminded us how important these issues are to suppliers and customers alike, and has been a catalyst for discussing our practices in a highly focused way.”

Olly Bartlett, Indigo Wine
“In these challenging times for retailers, it is important suppliers ensure they back up their independents by communicating strategy and any changes to the status of particular products clearly. These guidelines offer peace of mind for the merchant and of flexibility for the supplier. Independents continue to be one of our most important sectors and long may that continue.”

INDIES

Stephen Finch, Vagabond Wines
“It sends a powerful signal to the suppliers what is a commonly shared set of expectations/grievances among indies; and it allows suppliers to make an informed decision with regards to how they serve the indie sector. Anything that benefits indies benefits the entire wine market.”

Rupert Pritchett, Taurus Wines
“The guidelines are essentially common sense and the better suppliers are pretty much abiding by them anyway. However, it is causing conversations to happen at other agents who have sharpened up their act accordingly.”

Philip Amps, Amps Fine Wines
“I have certainly seen a difference. All my suppliers are being more open and offering the information requested immediately. Sales people are more informed as to where particular lines are listed. The cynic in me feels they now recognise that being honest as to where it is listed straight up, is better than me shouting at them after I have listed it.”

Who has signed up so far?

Indigo Wine, Ehrmanns, Mentzendorff, Les Caves de Pyrene, Hatch Mansfield, Cavendish Wines, Grupo Codorníu UK, Las Bodegas, PLB.

Miguel Leal

Why is your range suited to the independent sector?
Casa Leal specialises in Portuguese wine, a country expanding in volume and value in the UK. We offer an immense diversity of flavours due to the indigenous grapes in our wines and we cover almost all wine regions showing the best Portuguese terroirs.

What else does your business do that appeals to independents?
We offer a range of wines from small producers with a history and a difference. We pass this message on by establishing strong relationships.

How would you sum up the style of wines in your offering?
I look for producers with soul, who respect the origins of the indigenous Portuguese grapes and who make approachable, rounded wines.

Why does your portfolio appeal to consumers?
We represent wines with elegance; a perfect wine to drink at the table with food or at the wine bar with friends. I strongly believe in social media, and so do some of my producers — together we give more power to the consumer.

How will you be catching buyers’ attention at SITT?
We’ll be showing new vintages of wines in the Casa Leal portfolio as well as introducing new wines.

Cheshire’s Corks Out saw December sales up 15%, Manchester’s Hangingditch said sales rose 35% and Cambridge Wine Merchants reported sales growth of 21%.

Jamie Hutchinson, co-owner of the Sampler, said revenue grew 1%-2% at the Islington store, while the new South Kensington store was up 40%, and Northern Ireland’s James Nicholson said December’s sales were between 3%-4% ahead of 2010.

Hal Wilson of eight-strong Cambridge Wine Merchants said his big success stories were Argentina, as sales jumped 265% following a promotion, and Bordeaux.

Ruth Yates of Corks Out said a lot of corporate business came back in December, having missed 2010, and Ben Stephenson of Hangingditch, said the store had produced “great results for the last quarter”.

Jurys Inn Room

£63 Bed and breakfast for single occupancy
£73 Bed and breakfast for twin/double occupancy

We have been allocated 20 double rooms at the above rate for the 26th and 27th February.

If you would like to book a room from this allocation, please call 0161 953 8888 then press Option 1.

Once you get through to a member of staff you will need to advise that you would like to book a room from the SITT allocation the reference for which is SITT260212.

On the 29th January 2012, any non allocated rooms will be released, so book early to avoid disappointment.