Alcohol taxation: when is a review not a review?

21-Oct-2021 - In this weekend’s Sunday Times Tim Shipman, its Chief Political Commentator, wrote a surprisingly detailed piece about alcohol duty reform. It began “Break out the (English) bubbly” and then talked about teetotal Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s plans to fulfil the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto ...

WSTA calls on Government to end harmful Bourbon tariffs

08-Jul-2021 - The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has submitted a response to the Government’s consultation on damaging US tariffs, calling for the swift removal of tariffs on US whiskies and warning that adding duties to wine could be detrimental to UK jobs across the industry. Since June 2018, Bourbon and ...

Lockdown drinking trends in 2020

19-May-2021 - Argentinian wine, rosé and Ready To Drink (RTD’s) were some of the alcoholic beverages which saw a remarkable uplift in retail sales during lockdowns and restrictions in 2020. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s latest Market Report which gathers alcohol sales data – covering sales in ...

First Growth: Champagne to bring in the New Year with a sparkle as Brits lockdown with fizz

08-Jan-2021 - Growth in sales over the 3 months to October is helping Champagne to bring in the New Year in style as Brits turned to something a little special to get them through 2020. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s latest market report shows that 12 week sales in shops and supermarkets of Champagne ...

Record gin sales in 2019

The interest in British gin, which has been dubbed the ‘ginaissance’

15-Jun-2020 - Last year saw over 83 million bottles of gin sold in the UK worth around £2.6 billion, with gin sales almost doubling in value in just two years. And despite the ongoing lockdown, Brits still can’t get enough gin – the latest reports show that gin is the best-selling spirit for online shoppers ...

WSTA launches Trade 21 initiative

The wine and spirit industry is in a good position

08-May-2020 - While the world grapples with how best to return to some sort of normality post Coronavirus, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association remains committed to ensuring the sector gets the best out of Brexit. This week WSTA Chief Executive, Miles Beale, wrote to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, ...

UK’s excessively high wine and spirit tax is stifling growth of British SMEs

20-Feb-2020 - Britain’s best loved wine and spirit SMEs have joined forces to urge the Chancellor Rishi Sunak MP to cut wine and spirit duty by 2% to help boost British business. Frustrated owners of small and medium-sized wine and spirit businesses have jointly penned a letter to the new Chancellor expressing ...

Deal and Out

Breaking free of EU regulations offers wine and spirit trade opportunities

04-Feb-2020 - he Wine and Spirit Trade Association is calling on its members to “embrace a brave new world of trading” as Britain leaves the EU. After years of uncertainty and false deadlines the WSTA believes that, following a trade deal with the EU, the UK wine and spirit industry can focus on ...

Gin sales up 40% in the on-trade

Helping to revive the great British pub

31-Jan-2020 - The Wine and Spirit Trade Association is calling on the Chancellor to back British pubs and cut wine and spirit duty by 2%. Wine and spirit sales in UK pubs account for over a third of the total value of alcohol sold, worth £6 billion to pubs alone, which averages out a £120,000 per ...