Following the Chancellors budget today, the Government has announced the planned RPI duty rise for all alcohol has been scrapped - all alcohol duties have been frozen.

This is a very positive outcome after several years of duty increases applied to wine and the Wine and Spirit Trade Association have long lobbied government for this to stop. Since 2010, duty on wine has increased by 39%. In comparison, duty on beer, spirit and cider has increased by just 16%, 27% and 27% respectively.
 

This means that: 

• Duty on a 750ml bottle of wine remains at £2.23

• Duty on a 750ml bottle of sparkling remains at £2.86

• Duty on a 750ml bottle of fortified wine remains at £2.98

•  Duty on a 70cl bottle of vodka at 37.5% remains at £7.54

• Duty on a 70cl bottle of gin at 40% remains at £8.05

The government also confirmed that there will be an additional Budget in Autumn 2020.

Our new pricing, as a result of increases put upon us by our suppliers, will come into effect on Monday 30th March.  Our new list for 2020, including some very exciting new wines, will be available in the next two weeks and you should ask your Sales Manager for the latest copy.  An electronic version is available here.

We are delighted that the government has, on this occasion, seen fit not to penalise wine drinkers in the UK and hope that this will go some way to alleviate the other tax burdens on the hospitality industry.