THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 152, November 2025
Dog of the month: Pippa Whalley Wine Shop, Clitheroe
‘A perfect storm of crippling costs’: indies fear duty hike Chancellor expected to add 16p to a bottle of red wine on November 26, but merchants worry she may go even further
I
ndependents are bracing themselves
for a Budget duty hike that goes beyond the inflationary increase scheduled by
the Treasury.
If the chancellor goes ahead with current
plans, it will add around 16p to a bottle
of red wine. Combined with VAT and EPR,
wine prices will have risen by just under £1 a bottle since January 31, according to the Wine & Spirit Trade Association.
unveils her spending plans on November
reduced business rate relief, the wine and
soft touch.
that, combined with the rise in National
Insurance, minimum wage increases and
spirit sector “finds itself in a perfect storm of crippling costs”.
It also says duty increases have reduced
the Treasury’s revenue by contributing to a downturn in alcohol sales.
Independent wine merchants are hoping
for some sympathy when Rachel Reeves
26. But there are fears that, like chancellors before her, she will see the wine trade as a
Richard Ballantyne MW, who owns Noble
Grape in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, says: “I suspect that with a £70bn, and rising, deficit in the exchequer, aboveinflation increases are unavoidable.
“If it happens, it happens. Everyone is in
the same boat, but any further softening
Mike Taylor Photography
The WSTA is calling on Rachel Reeves to
scrap the planned duty increase, arguing
Food trucks have been central to Tina Rose's new vision for 9 Vines in Hove, which she bought a year ago. Story: pages 10-11.