The UK wine trade braces for impact as Budget looms

On 30 October UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce her debut Budget, and there is already significant unease over the threat of further changes to wine duty. Currently, excise Duty on all wines between 11.5% abv and 14.5% ABV is the same amount and calculated according to a simple easement, introduced as part of the Conservative government’s new duty system last year. As of 1 February 2025, this easement is set to be removed, as per the Conservative government’s plans. It means that the single amount of duty paid on wines between 11.5-14.5% ABV – £2.67 – will be replaced with up to 30 different payable amounts according to the strength of the wine. For a bottle of wine at 14.5% ABV this will see wine duty increase from £2.67 per bottle to £3.09. “Despite introducing the easement, it felt very much like the previous Government had closed the door on us in relation to maintaining it permanently,” says Miles Beale, CEO of the WSTA. “We are hopeful that this Government will ...