The cost of enjoying a glass of wine at a restaurant has surged by almost 40% since 2020, according to recent data.
Many high-end dining establishments now find it challenging to offer wine bottles priced below £35 or £40, as both restaurateurs and patrons express frustration over continuous price hikes.
These findings, released by the trade organization UKHospitality, coincide with the wine industry’s struggle against increased tax rates due to new reforms that tie duties to the alcoholic strength of beverages.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) reports that since 2023, the duty on a standard bottle of red wine has escalated by 49%.
Additionally, restaurants must apply a 20% VAT on wine bottles, further inflating costs.
Food critic Jay Rayner has remarked that the steep wine prices contribute to making the dining experience feel increasingly uncomfortable for customers.
He told YouTube series, At The Bar: ‘Nobody looks at the wine list unless they are somebody who is really interested in wine, in which case they are already aware of how wine pricing works.
‘Then they get there and they discover the cheapest bottle of wine is £35 or £40 and their dinner for two is going to cost them £20 more than they expected and it makes the whole experience of going to a restaurant feel uncomfortable.’
Jay Rayner, a food critic, has said the excessive price of wine has made ‘the whole experience of going to a restaurant feel uncomfortable’
He called on restaurants to find drinkable bottles in the supermarket and to put these on their wine lists for around £24.
Mr Rayner said choosing not to do this is ‘willful, strange and exclusive’.
Honey Spencer, the co-owner of Sune in Hackney, added that she has ‘become sick’ of expensive wine.
She wrote in a post on Instagram: ‘One of the hardest pills to swallow as a restaurateur over the last few years is the unrelenting rise in the cost of wine.
‘It’s never ending.’
‘At Sune, we’re constantly adjusting prices, lowering margins to make guests feel like even if we’re not cheap – which we’re not – we’re good value,’ she added.
It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a raid on drinkers in her November Budget that has caused the price of wine to rise by 13p.
Despite warnings about the fragile state of the hospitality sector – and concerns about inflation – the Chancellor pressed ahead with the increase in alcohol duty across the board.
The Treasury said it would revert to the formula of raising alcohol duty in line with its forecast rise in the retail prices index of 3.66 per cent.
Honey Spencer, the co-owner of Sune in Hackney, said she has ‘become sick’ of expensive wine in a post on Instagram
This has added 11p on a bottle of Prosecco, 13p on a bottle of red wine and 38p for a bottle of gin from February 1 next year, according to WSTA.
Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, called the alcohol duty increase ‘typically disappointing and shortsighted’.
‘Despite the OBR at last acknowledging higher prices lead to a decline in receipts, the Government fails to recognise that its own policy is driving up those prices,’ he said.
‘Amazingly, the Treasury continues to press ahead with its ill-founded plan to pile further duty increases on alcohol.
‘Prices will rise once more for consumers, British businesses will suffer, and Treasury receipts will continue to fall – forecast to be £700 million lower than last year and £1.1 billion lower than was forecast in March.’
The previous year, drinkers faced a 3.6 per cent hike to alcohol duty and a new system to tax wines and spirits based on strength introduced at the same time.
This added 54p to a bottle of wine and gin by 32p – while draught duty was cut by 1.7 per cent – or a penny off a pint – in the 2024 Budget.
Greg Mulholland, Campaign Director of the Campaign for Pubs, said: ‘This is a deeply disappointing budget that does nothing to address the crisis facing the UK’s world famous pubs.
‘There’s some limited support for some pubs in England through business rates, but no support whatsoever for pubs in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland.
‘Despite around 90,000 lost jobs in hospitality since last year’s disastrous budget, the Chancellor has done nothing to address those damaging cost hikes and indeed has imposed further costs on pubs and publicans who have to pay increased staff wages, at a time when many publicans are already earning less than their staff.’
