Cheers! English sparkling wine-makers celebrate scrapping of EU laws

Facts4EU toasts another Brexit win, with the fast-growing English wine sector

400 pages of EU laws (mostly French-created) were crushed on New Year’s Day

On New Year’s Eve Environment Secretary Steve Barclay welcomed the scrapping of outdated EU rules in respect of the UK’s wine sector, inherited from Brussels over decades. The reforms made possible by Brexit will uncork innovation, encourage sustainable practices, and reduce burdens for businesses.

In addition to the UK’s long-standing status as a global wine trading hub, with a wine market worth over £11 billion in 2022, England and Wales have a fast-growing wine-making industry.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

The booming wine sector in England and Wales

On-trade and off-trade sales were worth £11.1 billion in 2022
There are now almost 900 UK vineyards
Hectares under vine in the UK have more than quadrupled since 2000
Cultivation and harvesting of grapes is now Britain’s fastest-growing agricultural sector
The sector employs around 2,300 people full time
A further 8,300 are employed in part-time or seasonal work
50% growth in jobs predicted by 2025

[Source: DEFRA and GBWine.]

Bumper harvest in 2023

The trade association for Great British vineyard and wine producers, WineGB, reports 2023 is Great Britain’s largest-ever grape harvest, expected to produce an estimated 20-22m bottles. This represents an increase of over 50% on Britain’s previous record year in 2018.

A vineyard in the North Downs in South-East England - © Crown

Putting the fizz into Brexit Britain

Benefiting from perfect growing conditions in the south of England, English sparkling wine has seen a surge in popularity in recent years with 8.3 million bottles produced in 2022.

From Monday (01 January 2024), makers of English sparkling wine no longer have to use mushroom-shaped stoppers and foil covers on bottlenecks, giving producers the choice to opt for simpler packaging to reduce both waste and costs.

In a move welcomed by wine traders, the government will also remove the requirement for imported wines to have an importer address on the label, reducing administrative burdens for businesses.

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:

“Our departure from the EU gives us the opportunity to review and scrap outdated and burdensome rules that have been holding back our wine sector.
“The reforms we’re introducing will help our wine producers and traders become more profitable, dynamic, and sustainable – while freeing them from pointless red tape.
“Looking ahead to 2024, I’m committed to this government continuing to support our world-class wine-makers, vineyards and traders to grow and innovate.”

Nicola Bates, CEO of WineGB, the trade association for Great British vineyard and wine producers, said:

“We welcome the additional choice that comes from this first phase of actions from the wine reform consultation. There will be producers who are keen to take advantage of all and every option to reduce materials on bottles, so we can expect to see fewer foils on sparkling allowing you to celebrate that bit faster, and with an environmental benefit.
“We look forward to working with Government and the Defra team on future consultations, and am sure they will be as constructive as those now being implemented.”

The EU’s 400-page rulebook for wine - crushed

The reforms that came into force Monday (01 Jan 2024) follow last year’s ‘Wine: reforms to retained EU law consultation’ on the EU’s overly complex and bureaucratic 400-page rulebook for wine. The changes aim to facilitate international trade and foster domestic innovation and growth.

The UK wine market was worth over £11 billion in 2022 in off-trade and on-trade sales, and the UK’s developing domestic production sector has attracted significant global investment.

The UK is a global hub for wine. It is home to a diverse and dynamic wine sector and is the second largest importer of wine in the world by value. In 2022, off-trade sales of still, sparkling, and fortified wine via supermarkets, convenience stores, and specialist off-licences in the UK were worth around £7.6 billion, while on-trade sales through hospitality outlets were worth an estimated £3.5 billion.

The domestic wine-making sector in England and Wales might still be relatively small, but it is rapidly growing and developing a global reputation for quality. Production reports for 2022 show a 36% increase in production and there has been a 74% growth in hectarage of vines in just five years, between 2017 and 2022 (from 2,257ha to 3,928 ha).

Observations

The Brexit Facts4EU.Org team is happy to raise a glass this week to a fast-growing UK industry, finally freed from the shackles of stifling EU regulation. £11bn in wine sales is not to be quaffed lightly. The removal of many of the EU regulations holding it back are to be welcomed.

We must get reports like this out there

Reports like the one above take far longer to research, write and produce than many people realise. If they were easy, readers would see other organisations also producing these daily. However, there’s little point in the Facts4EU.Org team working long hours, seven days-a-week, if we lack the resources to promote them effectively – to the public, to MPs, and to the media. This is where you come in, dear reader.

Facts4EU.Org needs you today

We are a 'not for profit' team (we make a loss) and any payment goes towards the actual work, not plush London offices, lunch or taxi expenses, or other luxuries of some organisations.

We badly need more of our thousands of readers to become members, to support this work. Could this be you, today? It's quick and easy, we give you a choice of two highly secure payment providers, and we do NOT ask you for further support if you pay once. We just hope you keep supporting us. Your membership stays anonymous unless you tell us otherwise.

Please don't assume that other people will keep us going - we don't receive enough to survive and we need your help today. Could you help us? We rely 100% on public contributions from readers like you.

If you believe in a fully-free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom, please join now by clicking on one of the links below or you can use our Support page here. You will receive a personal, friendly ‘thank you’ from a member of our team within 48 hours. Thank you.

[ Sources: DEFRA | GBWine ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Thurs 04 Jan 2024

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget to actually post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 8

1. Ashley Great Britain , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 07:34:

Great news.
-
Incidentally I bought my mum a nice bottle of English sparkling wine for Christmas and she popped it on new years eve.
-
Now we need the supermarkets to have a whole section clearly marked with British wines of all types.
Although I drink English Ale/bitter that section would be my go-to place for any wines.
-
Now they need to keep going with the cull of EU regulations and rules.

2. terence patrick hewett , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 10:39:

French winemakers are buying up UK vineyards when they can: that's how good English grapes are.

3. Sparky , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 12:06:

The UK wine industry has grown significantly in recent years largely due to warmer conditions in the south and is a great British product. Had a tour of a vineyard in Kent a few years ago, great experience.
.
This is a bit of gaslighting and spin by Steve Barclay and Govt, the UK wine industry has been growing with EU rules and the changes will probably make little difference at all. They are scraping the barrel in looking for Brexit wins.
.
Meanwhile any exports to the EU will need to be made to EU regulations. In 2022 wine exports to non EU countries was £370m and to the EU £183m. And any exports to Northern Ireland will have to comply with EU rules.
.
Facts4EU are trying to lock me out again, don't seem to like disagreement.

4. Gazzablack , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 15:08:

3, sparkless
So UK exports to the EU have to be made to EU regulations do they?
Well that's alright because EU exports to the UK have to be made to UK standards as well.
.
Obversely, UK exports to non EU countries do NOT have to be made to EU regulations
.
Your observation that the UK wine industry was growing with EU rules is somewhat disingenuous.
The domestic winemaking industry has seen a 74% growth in hectarage of vines in the last five years.
.
The UK's EU membership saw French vineyards receive subsidies funded in no small part by UK taxpayers.
While back in 2021 France defeated an EU attempt to prune back 'vineyard protections'
Protections that capped the growth of Europes vineyards.
.
And that would have suppressed the growth in UK acreage.

5. LuxuryBalloon , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 16:25:

Great news for those who can’t afford or don’t like the real champagne.

6. jon iivesey , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 18:23:

3. Sparky , "Meanwhile any exports to the EU will need to be made to EU regulations. " Mt goodness, could anyone really be this dim? Exports to *any* country have to meet the regulations of that country, with any other agreement the exporting and importing countries have agreed. The reason is simple and obvious and it takes a Sparky not to understand it. A country that is exporting does not have legal jurisdiction over the countries it is exporting to, and a country that is importing has legal jurisdiction over its own internal markets. So, whatever the importing country says concerning regulation, goes. How could it be any other way?
UK exports to the EU having to obey EU regulations isn't some special "power" the EU has over us; it's how all trade works. It is always the buyer who can accept or reject goods, not the seller being able to impose goods on the buyer.
It's baffling how the Remainers love to gloat about some supposed power the EU has over the UK, unless, of course, they are foreign posters with a general hatred of Britain and the British, which is something I have always wondered about.

7. jon iivesey , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 18:48:

Here is a laughable one. The French now say that getting a five hundred million bung from the UK - and that's real money, Pounds, not euros - isn't enough for them because the UK isn't supplying them "enough information" about the small boats. That's the small boats coming *from* France *to* the UK.
To be fair, that does not change my opinion of the French.

8. Adam Hiley , Thursday, January 04, 2024, 21:55:

If We want to stay out of the EU then keeping Starmer's crew out is vital the Conservatives should get rid of the squatter Unelected PM Sunak and Hunt these two dud's were imposed on the British People I am a member of the Social Democratic Party and welcome the end of the 4 useless parties Lib-Lab-Con-SNP

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.