Post-Brexit hiccups could add £1.50 to bottle of f ine wine
... so bad news for one oenophile we know
IT is the sort of post-Brexit glitch that will hit home with renowned oenophile Michael Gove – the claim that extra paperwork and haulage costs will add at least £1.50 to the price of a bottle of fine wine.
The claims, made yesterday by wine importers, come as fishing firms warned of bankruptcy and retailers said they might burn clothes held in the EU, after being returned from European customers, because of customs charges.
The Financial Times quoted wholesaler Daniel Lambert as saying new export documents for wine leaving the EU, plus a 30 to 50 per cent rise in haulage costs, would push up prices on the shelves and reduce the range available. He said: ‘On a top-quality wine, it could easily be £2, but on the stuff retailing for £12 you’ll see £1 across the board. It will be less on a £3.50 bottle of supermarket wine, but I don’t count that as wine.’
A source close to Minister for the Cabinet Office and Brexit architect Mr Gove said: ‘There may be some additional costs and processes but there are a lots of excellent-value wines in UK markets and there will continue to be. A lot of wine is from outside the EU, too.’
About 28million British consumers drink wine at least once a month, according to research group Wine Intelligence.
Last night, Labour MPs rounded on Mr Gove for the prospective price rise.
Tonia Antoniazzi, MP for Gower, said: ‘Lots of people will be feeling like they were sold a vintage bottle only to find it corked on arrival.
‘Thanks to Michael Gove, it will be even more expensive for people to drown their sorrows during lockdown.’
Rupa Huq, MP for Ealing Central and Acton, added: ‘The barrier-less friction-free trade that Gove and chums promised was complete fantasy.’
The source close to Mr Gove said the Government had taken ‘swift action’ to resolve issues arising due to Brexit, adding: ‘Despite the doom-mongering and predictions of chaos at the border, disruption has so far been minimal.
‘Turn backs at the border are averaging just around 5 per cent each day, for example, on Tuesday this week around 5,000 HGVs crossed the short straits, with flow at around 70 per cent of normal levels’.
‘Sold a vintage bottle only to find it corked’