By the time this feature is published, a new UK wine labelling scheme should be effective. However, according to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), the government has signalled its intention to defer the introduction of the forthcoming labelling rules until 1 January, 2024.
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With Scotland announcing it will be going ahead with the introduction of its deposit return scheme (DRS) next year, on-trade operators have been voicing their concerns and identifying some potential pitfalls. England, Wales and Northern Ireland are also set to introduce their own schemes in 2024, so operators there will also have an eye on how it goes north of the border.
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Inflation has reached boiling point for the wine sector – with climate change adding to a melting pot of pressures which are placing increasing strain on the industry.
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According to market research by Shepper, the UK’s on-trade and hospitality outlets prefer to serve leading gin and tonic brands as their house products instead of supporting local and small-batch counterparts.
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According to new YouGov research, over three-quarters of Tory party members want tax on wine to be frozen at its current rate or reduced.
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Tequila is stealing a march on other spirits categories, with an impressive 94% growth spurt in two years underpinning the rise of the Mexican spirit in the UK.
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Following months of lobbying from the trade, the government yesterday (July 20) delayed its alcohol duty review till the Autumn.
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Harpers’ future leaders symposium at last month’s London Wine Fair had a core question embedded in its lively panel discussion – what does staff progression look like post-Covid, and how can those insights be used to address the industry’s increasingly serious recruitment problems?
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Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden and co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Wine and Spirits, wants to see the government do more to help English and Welsh winemakers.
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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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What a couple of years the trade has had. What ups and downs. During the worst months of Covid, we’re sure there are some who felt a bit like Midas’s barber in the ancient tales. Forced under pain of death to keep his master’s secret – that the former Greek king was hiding a pair of donkey’s ears beneath his hat – the unfortunate barber was only able to vent by taking himself to a bed of reeds and screaming that the king had, indeed, become part-ass.
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When chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his proposed changes to alcohol duty in the October Budget, he described them as the “most radical simplification of alcohol duties for over 140 years”. Under the present system, there are three duty rates on wine – one for still wine, a slightly higher one for sparkling wine and an even higher one for fortified wine.
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Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has taken up her new role as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Wine and Spirits following the Group’s recent AGM.
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As the latest Wine Drinkers UK communique suggests, taxing alcohol is set to cost the wine industry an estimated £300 million and push up prices for UK consumers, without bringing any significant boost to Treasury funds.
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The Board of Directors of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association has announced a new chair, Mark Riley of Edrington UK. He will be supported by Pierpaolo Petrassi MW from Waitrose in a new position as deputy chair.
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The past two years have been tough for everyone and Britain’s gin distillers are no exception. The various lockdowns and general uncertainty hit the industry hard and, while retailers and direct sales helped alleviate the shortfall, “the on-trade could never be replaced by home consumption”, according to Nick Cook, director-general of the Gin Guild.
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The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has convened a meeting of MPs and Lords to hear first-hand from British businesses how the ‘punishing’ proposals for duty reform from three to 27 tax bands will negatively impact the drinks industry and consumers.
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Vinitaly International Academy, the educational arm of the Verona show which aims to showcase the breath and diversity of the Italian peninsula, is launching a brand new focus in the UK.
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The UK has signed a far-reaching trade deal with New Zealand to remove trade barriers on many UK goods and services and provide new opportunities for British businesses.
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With just four days to go before the 30 January consultation deadline on the UK Government’s proposed changes to the way excise duty on alcohol is calculated, the last chance to be heard is fast closing in.
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