Wine drinkers are being warned to stock up before Saturday as prices are set to skyrocket from February.
An alcohol duty rise is coming into effect from Saturday which will see bottles of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz all hit with price increases among others.
The change is related to a new law which sees alcohol taxed based on its strength.
The rule was introduced in August 2023 but the Conservative government at the time added a temporary relief for wines with a strength between 11.5% and 14.5% ABV.
However, 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 more tax.
Alcohol duty will also rise generally by 3.65% on Saturday, and waste packaging recycling fees of 12p a bottle will also be added to prices.
It is thought the changes will see £1 added to the price of the average bottle of wine as a result.
A spokesperson for Hard to Find Wines.com 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 & Spirit Trade Association, said when the change was announced: “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 in favour of the move say the change is to be welcomed because of the link between excessive drinking and liver disease, brain damage, dementia and cancer.
An HM Treasury spokesman said: “The alcohol duty reforms have modernised and simplified the duty system, prioritising public health and incentivising consumption of lower strength products.”
