Drinks
Wine lists, bars, coffee and the people who pour with a point of view.
England and Wales allow digital ID for alcohol sales
Certified apps from Yoti, Luciditi and the Post Office can now stand in for a passport at the bar, though pubs are not required to accept them.
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Chile low-alcohol wine gets its own legal category
A decree published on 11 September lets Chilean producers make wine from 8.5% alcohol, three points below a minimum that stays in force for everything else.
92 Degrees Coffee opens inside a Sainsbury's store
The 20-café specialty chain from north west England opens its first supermarket counter in Neston, with more sites planned before the year is out.
Sonoma County's 2025 wine grape value falls 17%
The county's own crop report shows Cabernet Sauvignon losing a fifth of its value in a year, even as apples logged their best harvest since 2016.
Douro grape growers get €12m to leave grapes on the vine
Portugal will pay growers up to €1,125 a hectare for grapes nobody buys, while the Port quota stays far below 2023 levels and cellars remain full.
Au Vodka acquisition: Sazerac completes $405m deal
Sazerac, the New Orleans spirits group behind Buffalo Trace and Fireball, has bought the gold-bottled UK vodka brand for a reported $405 million, its fourth British deal since 2024.
Christina Aguilera joins Beau Joie Champagne as partner
The singer becomes a partner and global creative director at the low-sugar Champagne house, backing its push into wider retail and mass-market shelves.
Port Ellen cask goes to auction at €1 million
A single cask from the closed Islay distillery is up for sale on Fine Spirits Auction, with a starting bid of €1 million and bidding open until 2 October.
English whisky wins protected status after six years
Defra grants Geographical Indication status to English whisky, closing the last gap in UK spirit protections and tying the name to home-grown cereals.
Roma Bar Show opens its sixth edition at La Nuvola
More than 200 exhibitors and a new zone dedicated to low- and no-alcohol drinks mark the trade show's move to Rome's EUR convention centre for two days.
Glendronach's Boynsmill House marks 200 years
A 14-year-old single malt finished in Claret wine casks for the first time, sold only through The Whisky Shop while the distillery marks two centuries at Boynsmill Estate.
Burgundy’s earliest harvest in nearly 500 years
Grand cru Montrachet started picking on 13 August, the region’s earliest date in nearly 500 years, as France’s overall 2026 wine crop falls to its smallest since 1957.
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