Liter-sized bottles of wine will be allowed on UK shelves from the autumn under new post-Brexit trading rules – but questions have emerged over their demand.
Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said seven changes to pre-packaged wine sizes will come into force on September 19.
Announcing the date in the House of Commons, he said the move would support the UK’s “thriving” wine sector by providing opportunities for “innovation and greater choice”.
But the SNP’s Patrick Grady said the government should admit there is “little or no demand or interest in this supposedly glorious benefit of Brexit”.
The move to introduce a 568ml wine size, to go along with the 200ml and 500ml sizes already available, was announced in December and hailed by ministers as “freedom” from Brexit.
Bottles of champagne were sold in the UK before Britain joined the European Common Market and were on shelves until 1973.
But their production ceased because they did not comply with EU weights and measures rules.
Hollinrake told the Commons: “The 568ml liter quantity is one of seven changes to pre-packaged wine sizes due to come into force on 19 September 2024, supporting the UK’s thriving wine sector by providing opportunities for innovation. and greater choice.”
However, Grady said this was “nowhere near as definitive” as the government’s December press release, which was headlined: “Liters of wine stocked on Britain’s shelves for the first time”.
Grady said: “Will not be stocked, will not be stocked, will not be stocked, will not be stocked – this implied that liters of wine were and are available to buy now in stores across the UK.
“Will the government admit that the reality is that there has been little or no demand or interest in this supposedly glorious benefit of Brexit and, in fact, it is entirely possible that liters of wine will never be stocked on UK shelves?”
Hollinrake replied, “Well, it’s never hard to tell the honorable gentleman from a ray of sunshine, is it?”
He added: “Our new post-Brexit powers offer new options, including new legislation that aligns existing sizes of pre-packed still and sparkling wines so that both can be sold in 200ml and 500ml quantities, which we know there is good demand for. . “
Brexit border checks will “add billions”
The change comes amid concern about new and expensive post-Brexit border controls for food and animal products, which raised warnings of higher prices and empty shelves.
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Returning to imperial measures is “complete and utter nonsense”
Grady, MP for Glasgow North, went on to say that “the Brexit dream of people drinking pints of wine and invoking the spirit of Churchill was always a fantasy” and that “the reality is a Brexit nightmare of border controls, of reduced consumption choice and business closures”.
Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said the move would increase consumer choice, adding: “If they don’t like it, they don’t need to buy it.”
‘Pure idiocy’
There will be no legal obligation for companies to sell the new sizes.
At the time of the announcement, WineGB chief executive Nicola Bates said: “We welcome the opportunity to be able to harmonize still and sparkling bottle sizes and are happy to raise our glass to greater choice.”
However, some industry insiders were more skeptical.
Liberty Wines founder David Gleave MW suggested there wasn’t enough demand for it, posting on X: “Pure idiocy. It makes no sense from a quality standpoint. And in decades of selling wine, I’ve never been asked for a small bottle.” “
The move comes after a wider post-Brexit review of the UK’s measurement system was scrapped.
A government consultation last year found that 98.7% of people were in favor of keeping metric units – prompting Rishi Sunak to abandon Boris Johnson’s signature Brexit “dividend” of allowing British stores to sell goods again in pounds and ounces.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
