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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Published: 29 April, 2022
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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Published: 22 April, 2022
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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Published: 22 March, 2022
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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Published: 15 March, 2022
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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Published: 01 March, 2022
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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Published: 26 January, 2022
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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Published: 21 January, 2022
The UK trade has expressed its outrage that ProWein has changed its date to clash with the London Wine Fair (LWF) in 2022 – while also expressing deep sympathy for the LWF which is due to return in physical form for the first time in two years.
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Published: 21 January, 2022
Accolade Wines is the latest major wine company to join calls urging the government to take stock of its alcohol duty review.
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Published: 18 January, 2022
Calls for the drinks trade to voice its concerns over the government’s alcohol duty review have ramped up as the consultation period nears its close on 30 January, potentially adding a £220 million additional tax burden on wine.
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Published: 17 December, 2021
The UK and Australia have reached an historic agreement on trade, in a move that has been welcomed by the WSTA.
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Published: 09 December, 2021
New Government legislation will mean an additional 13% price increase overnight added to every bottle of fortified wine entering the country come January of next year, according to Steve Moody, chairman of Fells, which counts the Ports of Symington Family Estates, Blandy’s Madeira and Barbadillo sherries in its portfolio.
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Published: 08 December, 2021
A consortium of businesses has called upon the governments of the US and UK to remove all tariffs affecting the transatlantic whisky trade.
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Published: 24 November, 2021
With Christmas almost upon us, the WSTA has called upon the UK government to take urgent action over HGV driver shortages and freight disruption to avoid “supply chain chaos” in December 2021 and beyond.
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Published: 15 November, 2021
Now the dust has settled and the Chancellor has published proposals to change the UK alcohol taxation system, Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine & Spirit Trade Association, picks apart the pros and cons of the suggested model.
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Published: 04 November, 2021
The Drinks Trust has launched a new survey for 2021, which is seeking to establish how members of the hospitality and drinks industry are feeling in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
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Published: 28 October, 2021
Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed plans to simplify the current alcohol duty regime during yesterday’s Budget, when it was revealed that the Treasury would be adopting a new principle of “the stronger the drink, the higher the rate”.
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