Wednesday, 4 February, 2026
The Drinks Business, Sophie Arundel
The UK will now begin paying the highest wine taxes in Europe, according to reports published across many national papers over the weekend, in a move that delivers another blow to the country’s struggling pubs and drinks sector.
Alcohol duty is due to rise by 3.66% under changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at her Budget, increasing the cost of a bottle of full-bodied red wine by 14p.
As a result, the UK will overtake Finland to become the European country with the highest duty rates on 14.5% ABV wines. These include many popular full-bodied styles such as Argentinian Malbec and Italy’s Primitivo. Duty on a bottle of wine at this strength will stand at £3.33 in Britain, compared with around £3.29 in Finland, where high alcohol taxes are used as a tool to curb consumption.
‘No brewer or publican would want to inflict this on customers’
The increase comes just days after Reeves was forced to water down a proposed tax raid following a campaign highlighted by The Telegraph. The Chancellor has since unveiled what she described as a sweeping rescue package for pubs, which are facing the removal of Covid-era reliefs and a wave of business rate revaluations in April. She said pubs were “at the heart of British life”.
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