UK wine duty to rise with inflation

The Autumn Budget has introduced changes to Alcohol Duty, raising the cost of a typical 750ml bottle of wine. From 1 February 2025, the duty on non-draught products like bottled wine will increase in line with inflation, meaning a bottle of 13% ABV wine could see a duty rise of up to 8p.

While most duty in the UK rises as a percentage of the alcohol in the bottle, wine had, until this budget, had a fixed duty for alcohol levels between 11.5 and 14.5% abv. Now duty will rise with each increase in abv. This will marginally reduce the duty for wine below 12.5% and raise them for wine over 12.5%.

With many in the hospitality industry are on or near minimum wage, for those aged 23 and over, a 6.7% rise in the National Living Wage to £12.21/hour will help, while those under 23 will see the National minimum wage increase from £8.60 to £10/hour. This, along with increases in employer contributions for national insurance, will see a big increase in staffing costs for the hospitality industry.