From August 1, 2023, the UK has a new taxation policy on alcohol, primarily based on the drink’s alcohol strength. This change is expected to cause an approximate 9% rise in duty for nearly 90% of all still wine. With an additional 10.1% duty increase linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI), wine drinkers are set to experience an overall tax increase of 20%. This will result in the duty on a bottle of still wine increasing by 44p, the most significant rise since 1975.
The new duty system, combined with the inflationary rise of 10.1% (RPI), affects both still and sparkling wine. For a 75cl bottle of still wine with 12.5% alcohol by volume (ABV), the duty will increase from £2.23 to £2.67. Sparkling wine with 12% ABV sees a slight decrease in duty, going down by 19p from £2.86 to £2.67.
Also, between August 1, 2023, and February 1, 2025, wine with an ABV ranging from 11.5% to 14.5% will be treated as if it has 12.5% ABV for duty calculations.
