The NEWTS (Newbury Tasting Society)

Frequently Asked Questions

Please direct any questions to David about wine tasting or any questions about the Society


Questions

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.

back to top

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

back to top

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).

back to top

 

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

back to top