Alcohol duty will also increase generally by 3.65% on Saturday with the price change following a new law. Wines with higher alcohol content will be subject to increased tax
Wine enthusiasts might want to stock up before Saturday hits – as prices are set to soar from February.
Due to an incoming alcohol duty hike, drinkers can expect bottles of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and more to face heftier price tags. The impending cost hike is all down to new legislation taxing booze on its potency.
The rule was brought in back in August 2023 however the Conservative government at the time added a temporary relief for wines with a strength between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV. But this relief is due to end on Saturday (February 1), and has not been extended by Labour.
It means that wines with higher alcohol content will be subject to increased tax. Alcohol duty will also increase generally by 3.65% on Saturday, and waste packaging recycling fees of 12p a bottle will also be added to prices.
Industry insiders predict these shifts will slap an extra £1 onto your average bottle of plonk, reports Birmingham Live. A Hard to Find Wines.com spokesperson said: “In February the new duty rates on wine will come in to force, meaning a rise in price on most wines, as well as another layer of red tape and further costs on importing.
“The new rates from February 1, 2025 will now be on a sliding scale with duty dependent on alcohol content – ABV. For wines at 11.5% ABV the duty will actually reduce to £2.54 a bottle, down from the standardised £2.67 which is currently payable. However wines at 13% will have an increased rate of £2.88, and for the majority of red wines that sit at 14.5%, these will see an increase to £3.21 per bottle – a staggering 20% increase!”
Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said: “We simply cannot understand why the Government has said they are trying to protect income and in the next breath raising alcohol duty in a move that is totally counterproductive. Recent history has shown us that duty increases lead to price rises for consumers, a dip in sales and, as a result, fewer receipts for the Treasury.
“We are bitterly disappointed that Labour, despite their manifesto pledge to prioritise growth, has chosen not to listen to business – especially SMEs, which will be hardest hit of all. Instead of reversing the last Government’s damaging plans to bring in unnecessary, complex and costly changes to the way wine is taxed, Labour wants to plough ahead. And for what?
“Raising alcohol duty and ending the wine easement will not bring in more revenue for the Chancellor, but it will mean businesses will now be obliged to tussle with more costly and complicated red tape.
“It’s bewildering that Labour has chosen to support a Rishi Sunak-inspired tax complication when a long, desperate queue of retailers and businesses have beaten a path to the new Government’s door to explain why abolishing the easement adds pointless cost and complexity and undermines economic growth.”
Campaigners who back the move argue that it’s a positive step due to the connection between excessive drinking and health issues such as liver disease, brain damage, dementia, and cancer. Meanwhile, an HM Treasury spokesperson defended the reforms, stating: “The alcohol duty reforms have modernised and simplified the duty system, prioritising public health and incentivising consumption of lower strength products.”
