The NEWTS (Newbury Tasting Society)
Frequently Asked Questions
Please direct any questions to
David about wine tasting or any questions
about the Society
Q: What is the excise duty on wine?
Q: Which countries produce the most wine?
Q: Which are the most widely planted grape types?
Q: What is the difference between red and white wine glasses?
Answers
Q: What is the excise duty on wine?
A: Duty on wines and spirits was set in the last budget Nov. 2018, from Feb.2019 (data from www.gov.uk/alcohol-duties). VAT is then charged on the price of the wine after duty has been added.
Wine or Spirit | Excise Duty (£) |
---|---|
Wine (75 cl) | 2.60 |
Sparkling Wine Exceeding 5.5% not exceeding 8.5% abv- (75cl) | 2.52 |
Sparkling Wine Exceeding 8.5% not exceeding 15% abv - (75cl) | 3.33 |
Fortified wines (75cl) | 3.46 |
Spirits (per 70cl @37.5% abv) | 9.05 |
Spirit based Ready to Drink products (27.5cl @5.5%) | 0.43 |
Cider (per pint) | 0.22 |
Beer (per pint @4%) | 0.42 |
The rate in France is €0.34 per litre (still wine) and €0.84 per litre (sparkling
wine).
VAT is 19.6%, and is charged on the producers' costs only.
Q: Which countries produce the most wine?
A: According to the latest information (
wine institute), France and Italy are the largest producers. Note the rise of China.
Recent figures (in hectolitres*1000) are shown, be aware that figures vary from different sources.
Rank | Country | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | France | 49,778 | 40,477 | 42,134 | 46,804 |
2 | Italy | 42,272 | 40,829 | 54,029 | 44,229 |
3 | Spain | 33,397 | 31,500 | 45,308 | 38,211 |
4 | USA | 26,924 | 27,604 | 23,590 | 22,020 |
5 | Argentina | 15,470 | 11,778 | 14,984 | 15,197 |
6 | Australia | 11,090 | 11,550 | 12,310 | 12,020 |
7 | South Africa | 10,463 | 10,865 | 10,982 | 11,316 |
8 | China | 11,569 | 13,816 | 11,780 | 11,178 |
9 | Chile | 9,665 | 10,010 | 12,820 | 10,500 |
10 | Germany | 9,132 | 8,903 | 8,409 | 9,202 |
11 | Portugal | 5,610 | 5,857 | 6,231 | 6,195 |
12 | Romania | 4,058 | 3,311 | 5,113 | 4,093 |
15 | New Zealand | 2,814 | 2,150 | 2,484 | 3,204 |
55 | UK | 30 | 23 | 33 | 47 |
Q: Which are the most widely planted grape types?
A: The short answer is that no one knows for sure. It’s easy to quantify the acreage in the more developed countries like the US, France, Germany, Italy, etc. as they do a regular census, but some countries do not do a census of their vineyards.
Probably the most widely planted grape used for wine-making is Airé from Spain which is used to make Spanish brandy, followed by Trebianno (or Ugni Blanc in France).
Q: What is the difference between red and white wine glasses?
A: A red wine glass will usually feature a shorter stem than that of white wine glasses. This is because while white wines are usually served chilled, red wines are served at warmer temperatures so the glass is usually held by the bowl, helping retain a mildly warmer temperature to help promote the flavours and aromas.
White wine is best served chilled, so the longer stem found on white wine glasses allows you to hold the glass without having to grasp the bowl, warming the chilled contents with your hand.
A fuller account can be found here