You know things must be bad when industry leaders take time out to highlight the good things that are going on, focusing in on a handful of positives that have bucked the general besieged mood enveloping much of the drinks trade. But there’s a lot to be said for this ‘glass half full’ approach, not least because there are opportunities to be grasped, categories to be leveraged and still a lot of R&D and innovation in our world.
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The WSTA has unveiled sales statistics from its new Sip 2 report which show that for 2025, off-trade sales for the ready to drink (RTD) category rose +17% year on year in terms of value.
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Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) chief executive Miles Beale used a platform at the opening of this year’s London Wine Fair (LWF) to call for an ongoing and urgent drink and hospitality industry reset with regard to lobbying government.
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Published: 23 April, 2026
The wine and spirits sector has hit back against what the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) called “the UK's uniquely punitive excise duty regime”.
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Published: 07 April, 2026
Rosé wine sales are bucking the trend of declining still wine sales, according to the WSTA’s latest Market Report.
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Published: 27 February, 2026
A new survey by Drinks United – a collaboration between the WSTA, WSET and The Drinks Trust – has found that there are widespread concerns about safety, discrimination and inclusion across those who work in the drinks trade.
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Published: 16 February, 2026
The recent decision by the Welsh government to include single-use glass bottles in its Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) has been criticised by the WSTA, which called the policy costly and ineffective.
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Published: 28 January, 2026
The hospitality industry has reacted to yesterday’s announcement by the government that pubs and music venues would receive a rates relief package costing £80m next year alone (as Harpers reported).
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Published: 15 December, 2025
Trying to extract any optimism from the autumn Budget is potentially a fool’s errand. Alcohol duty will increase in line with RPI – a move many in the sector had pleaded with the government not to make. With RPI currently set at 3.66%, according to the WSTA, this will see duty go up 11p on an average bottle of Prosecco, 13p on a bottle of red wine and 38p on a bottle of gin. This, combined with the cumulative strain of the inflationary pressures of the past five years on consumer buying power, will likely continue to inhibit spend on alcohol.
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Published: 05 December, 2025
With record numbers of exhibitors signed up and record numbers of attendees also predicted to attend, Wine Paris has evolved its content for this year’s event to send a clear message on unfavourable government policies.
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Published: 27 November, 2025
In the wake of the Budget, the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has released a table (below) revealing just how much the duty increases will impact prices for the consumer, further dampening demand for wines and spirits.
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Published: 19 November, 2025
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has appointed Caroline Thompson-Hill (pictured), head of BWS at Marks & Spencer, as the new chair of the executive board.
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Published: 23 October, 2025
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) is calling on the government to get rid of plans to raise alcohol duty, to avoid further price rises that will fuel inflation.
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Published: 13 October, 2025
Drinks United (DU) is running an industry survey aimed at helping the UK drinks trade to become more inclusive, united and supportive for everyone that works within it. The survey will close on 17 October (this Friday), and anyone who works in the UK drinks industry is eligible to take part.
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Published: 24 September, 2025
Fresh figures from HMRC’s latest alcohol duty receipts (published 19 September) show that revenue is down -4.3%. This will frustrate many in the drinks industry who faced a February hike of wine and spirits duty.
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Published: 18 September, 2025
Drinks United (DU) has announced an industry-wide survey, designed to gather insights into how the UK drinks trade can become more united, more inclusive and more supportive for all those who work within it.
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Published: 20 August, 2025
The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has warned that the Welsh government's “confusing proposal” to create a unique Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) “risks creating significant market distortions”.
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The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has published a ‘go-to guide’ for the industry, aimed at helping policy makers and politicians “better understand” the UK wine and spirit market.
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The WSTA has added four members to its executive board, with the quartet attending their first board meeting at the Penderyn Distillery in Swansea this week.
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The first iteration of the WSTA Industry Summit since 2019 could not have come at a more pertinent time for the sector. On the docket were tariffs and domestic headaches, but also themes of adaptability and resilience.
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