Why wine is going to start costing you more

A change in the way alcohol is taxed means wine prices are going to creep up. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. At the start of this month, the new wine duty was fully implemented by our current government, having been introduced by the previous one. Cheers, guys. But what, exactly, has happened, and how have things now changed?.

Image Credit: the Guardian [Hannah Crosbie]

In August 2023, Rishi Sunak’s government introduced a revised alcohol duty in line with the retail price index (essentially a measure of inflation). While the system this replaced calculated wine duty by volume (with three different rates for still, sparkling and fortified wines), the new duty is calculated via a drink’s alcohol by volume. And because wine can now be labelled to within the closest 0.1% ABV, those three rates have now been replaced by well over 100 different ones.

Due to the complexity of the new system (yes, it all makes my brain hurt, too), a temporary easement period was introduced to help businesses get ready for the changes – for instance, wines between 11.5% and 14.5% were all taxed as if they were 12.5%. And that period is what ended on February 1, so welcome to the new normal.

The duty rises mean that, as with pretty much anything else you can buy, prices are now steadily creeping up – the Wine and Spirits Trade Association estimated that about 43% of all wines would increase in price – with red wines, which tend to be higher in alcohol, the most affected, with the tax on a 14.5% bottle now up to £3.09.

There are many issues with the new system, which fails to appreciate the complexities of wine as an agricultural product. In some cases, for instance, ABV cannot be accurately predicted due to increasingly unpredictable climatic influences from vintage to vintage, while many classified wines are subject to stylistic rules that mean their ABV cannot be lowered.

And all this means that all those beautiful stories I’m used to being regaled with about reasonable prices for outstanding wines slip further and further into the past. It makes me wonder why I spent the 1990s learning basic motor skills when I could have been buying reasonably priced burgundy instead? It also means that prices will rise everywhere, so while I’ll continue to seek out great value, these universal price increases mean we should be even more wary of wines that remain hyper-cheap. After all, if fast fashion raises questions about ecological and social sustainability for you, so should any bottle of wine retailing for less than £5.

Domaine des Ormes Saumur Rouge £10.50 Co-op, 13%. Classically styled cab franc with a mineral bite and plenty of red fruit. Lentsch Zweigelt 2022 £9.99 Waitrose, 13%. A good jumping-off point into Austrian wine. Medium-bodied and great with anything with a tomatoey sauce.

Morrisons The Best Pecorino £7.50, 13%. Cooperatives are a reliable way to find value. This is made by Citra Vini, a collective of eight co-ops in Abruzzo. Pago de Tharsys Cava Reserva NV £14.50 Clapton Craft, 11.5%. Stunning and reliable cava, made up of 75% macabeo and 25% parellada.