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WSTA celebrates LWF return, though "Recovery is not a given"

Published:  07 June, 2022

The WSTA struck a note somewhere between optimism and realism at the opening briefing of this year’s London Wine Fair, calling for “resilience and resistance” in order to manifest a more fully formed recovery of the wine and spirit trade post-Covid.

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A year in review: The 2021 challenge

Published:  20 December, 2021

James Lawrence picks out the highs and lows of another history-making year.

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New Zealand deal is a ‘win’ for business

Published:  21 October, 2021

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has welcomed news of a potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with New Zealand, which could lead to the removal of all tariffs on goods between the two countries.

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Unsustainable future

Published:  16 August, 2021

Following the successful lobbying of government to ditch the much-derided and unnecessary VI-1 forms for wine imports, trade voices are gearing up for another battle, this time concerning organic wines.

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Profile: Caroline Thompson-Hill, Accolade Wines Europe

Published:  06 July, 2021

Caroline Thompson-Hill, MD for Europe at Accolade Wines, is determined to lead from the front in terms of creating a sustainable and diverse business which keeps a keen eye on consumer-driven trends. By Jo Gilbert

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Prentis promises to work with industry on certification and Brexit/Covid fallout

Published:  28 May, 2021

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has welcomed a “positive and productive” meeting with Victoria Prentis MP where she is said to have understood the “value” of the wine and spirits industry and vowed to work closely on rebuilding post-Brexit and Covid.

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Adam Smith Institute calls out ‘Alice in Wonderland’ thinking on VI-1s

Published:  26 May, 2021

The Adam Smith Institute has added its voice to calls on government to reduce post-Brexit red tape for the wine trade, including scrapping the much derided and wholly unnecessary VI-1 forms.

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Lambert and Beale take VI-1 fight onto Newsnight

Published:  18 March, 2021

Campaigning wine importer Daniel Lambert and the WSTA’s Miles Beale added further momentum to the wine trade’s calls to abolish the much-derided VI-1 forms during an appearance on the BBC’s flagship news programme on Wednesday eve.

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Industry needs to ‘redouble efforts’ to scrap VI-1s

Published:  27 January, 2021

Victoria Prentis, minister for fishing and farming, this week confirmed that the government will “consider in due course whether there is a case for revisiting the requirements of the VI-1 certification”. 

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‘Tariff free’ trade continues to muddy the Brexit waters

Published:  20 January, 2021

The scrapping of lab tests for EU wine heading to the UK will save the wine industry tens of millions of pounds a year. However, the new trade deal between the EU and UK has thrown up new questions around how much cross border trade in 2021 is likely to cost, with EU wine travelling via GB to Northern Ireland and other parts of the EU now entering a no man’s land where it temporarily belongs to neither region.

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WSTA membership climbs as it releases Brexit checklist

Published:  10 December, 2020

A record number of wine and spirit businesses have joined the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) this year following a recruitment drive bolstered by concerns over Covid and Brexit.

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‘Huge confusion’ over what Brexit means for bulk

Published:  03 December, 2020

There is mounting concern over the lack of clarity around the introduction of VI-1 forms for bulk shippers, despite the end of the transition period being just weeks away.

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Miles Beale: Trade deal will be within the week or not at all

Published:  25 November, 2020

Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) chief executive Miles Beale has said that the UK is likely to get ‘something or nothing’ in terms of a trade deal over the coming week, while insisting that a ‘deal is still better than no deal at all’.

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Liv-ex prepares for skyrocketing cost of Brexit transition

Published:  25 November, 2020

Liv-ex is predicting that the number of ‘steps’ involved in transferring wine between the UK and the EU will more than double post-January, with associated costs forecasted to rise exponentially.

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Lords advocate ditching VI-1s in favour of digital wine passport

Published:  27 July, 2020

The introduction of burdensome VI-1 forms to wine entering the UK from the EU has found its way into the House of Lords where members debated scrapping them via an amendment to the Agriculture Bill. 

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Self-imposed regulations risk UK’s standing as fine wine trading hub

Published:  01 July, 2020

The UK's status as a global trading hub for fine wine will face major risks from the additional burdens of government-imposed regulations when the UK ends its Brexit transition period at the close of the year.

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Spotlight on 2020: Hugh Sturges, Jeroboams

Published:  19 December, 2019

As we prepare for the new decade, Harpers will be taking the month of December to look back over 2019 and ahead to what the coming year will bring – hopefully full of revived optimism for both politics and the trade.

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Government backs down on VI-1 forms

Published:  21 October, 2019

The government has agreed to temporarily suspend the introduction of forms which were feared to create an extra layer of red tape for the wine industry in what is shaping up to be an increasingly disorderly Brexit.

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