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Updated graphic shows the true cost of wine

Bibendum’s Vinonomics diagram takes duty rise into account
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Duty increase continues “doom loop”

WSTA warns Chancellor’s decision will result in falling sales
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Hallgarten boss to step down after 16 years

No successor has yet been named for Andrew Bewes
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MERCHANT PROFILE: GOLBORNE WINE & DELI

Graham Holter enjoys some time in a Notting Hill hot spot
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The Vineking crashes with £800k debts

Erik Laan’s new company means Reigate branch is still trading
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German wine harvest hits 15-year low

Rheinhessen alone is down 23% thanks partly to autumn rains
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The indie now arriving at Brighton station

Seven Cellars has opened a second branch, aimed at rail travellers
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French Connections 2021

Highlights from this year’s tasting of wines looking for independent UK importers
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Tribute to Ellis head wine buyer

Matthew Cooper had been with the company for nearly 25 years before his untimely death
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Sunak’s duty plans explained

Trade welcomes duty harmonisation and business rate cut, but fears sliding duty scale
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The most popular woman in Sandwich

Everyone in the Kent town seems to make friends with Sarah Dodd of Hercules Wines
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Kiwi Sauvignon is running low

A short harvest and shipping delays mean consumers might have to switch to other white…
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Idris joins the independent trade

Luther star Idris Elba has opened a Kings Cross wine shop with David Farber
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A sad farewell to Bow Lane

Landlord inflexibility means a treasured Planet of the Grapes branch is gone
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Vineyards moves to bigger premises

Sherborne indie Vineyards has plans for a wine lounge in its bigger store
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Kenrick’s name is above the door

Kenrick Bush of Urban Cellar has opened a new Fulham shop in his own name
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From Cape Town back to Aberdeen

A couple have returned home from South Africa to create a wine shop and bar…
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The happy return of the Dirty Dozen

David Williams toasts the return of a vital trade tasting
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On the Road: Tom van der Neut

Spotlight on the Vintrigue Wines rep for southern England
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Life outside wine: Duncan McLean

The Kirkness & Gorie owner talks about life as a musician, writer and publisher
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Rising Stars: Nathan Taylor

Keeping the plates spinning at Hop Burns & Black in Peckham
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Bright Ideas: Take part in a local festival

It’s all hands to the decks at To Be Consumed in Leytonstone
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Four reasons to get fortified

The recent developments that have given a traditional category a new lease of life
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Irene combines bakery and wine shop

New Camberwell independent is the creation of a couple with roots in Russia and Kazakhstan
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Recent Digital Editions

Issue 151 (October 2025)
Issue 150 (September 2025)
Issue 149 (August 2025)
Issue 148 (July 2025)
Issue 147 (June 2025)
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Our final (and biggest) issue of 2025 is landing n Our final (and biggest) issue of 2025 is landing now, with an early Christmas gift of a 2026 wall planner. Never miss Xinomavro Day again!

As always there is loads going on in this edition, but that goes without saying, because the independent trade is where the fun happens. We do our best to report on it all, and throw in a few cartoons and silly captions along the way.

We next publish in January but we'll keep the website up to date in the meantime.
Issue 151 of The Wine Merchant is here. What's i Issue 151 of The Wine Merchant is here. 

What's inside? Nasty scammers, majestic hawks, repurposed wine bottles, guilt pangs, bleeding cocoa nibs, Sting (the singer), stings (from bees), 10,000 wine louts, people who lie about chocolate, hedonistic vermouth, Torres v Walkers, hairdresser puns, Lennon and McCartney in the northern Rhône, sesquiterpene rotundone, Leicester City and a small cheese sandwich. 

See if you can spot them all!
So sorry to hear of the passing of Peter Hall, pio So sorry to hear of the passing of Peter Hall, pioneer of English sparkling wine, self-proclaimed hermit and a wonderful raconteur who was generous with his time. Anyone with a bottle of Breaky Bottom in their collection will be toasting the memory this week of a lovely man.

Report on the Wine Merchant website, where you can also read the Q&A we did with Peter in 2022. It was the best article we ran that year – and perhaps in any year. RIP.
We used to be the only wine magazine in the world We used to be the only wine magazine in the world to publish album reviews. Now we're the only one with a psychotherapy column.

Plus: a horrible quiz, a stupid cartoon, in-store opera, people covered in treacle, the black hole of wine retailing, disappointing Belgian cuisine, and David Perry's plums.

Open your copy now while it's still got that strangely intoxicating aroma.
The 149th edition of The Wine Merchant is out ther The 149th edition of The Wine Merchant is out there in the wild. A huge milestone. We enjoyed putting it together for you and yesterday we celebrated its publication by tasting so much vermouth that parts of our mouths are jammed into unfamiliar positions and we’re talking in Dutch accents. Other than that, all good thanks 🤜
Loads of new openings, relocations and expansions Loads of new openings, relocations and expansions to read about in the latest edition of The Wine Merchant. But no closures. 

As Kate Goodman of Reserve Wines tells us in her interview, it's "probably as hard as it's ever been" for indies to keep going. But that's exactly what they're doing – and store numbers continue to rise.

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