Export Market Guide - United Kingdom

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the ministerial department with responsibility for overseeing laws related to wine. The Food Standards Agency is the competent authority responsible for enforcing the wine regulations at the import, bottling, UK production and wholesale distribution stages within the UK. DEFRA, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and local authorities are also enforcement agencies with the latter being responsible for all enforcement in the retail sector.

Brexit and UK wine reforms

Although the UK is no longer a member of the EU, in accordance with the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and the Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, many of the EU wine regulations as applied to the UK on 31 December 2020 continue to apply in the UK. The Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020 and a customs border is now imposed between the UK and EU, including Northern Ireland. The retained EU wine regulations dictate:

• the oenological practices that may be used in the production of imported wine prior to it being imported to the UK
• the oenological practices that may be used in the production of imported wine within the UK
• the labelling requirements for wine in the UK
• rules pertaining to the provision of VI-1 documents for wine imported to the UK.

Australia and the UK are parties to the Agreement on Trade in Wine between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK Wine Agreement). This bilateral agreement secured the arrangements under the Agreement between Australia and the European Community on Trade in Wine in a post-Brexit environment. The UK Wine Agreement entered into force on 1 January 2021 and provides a framework for the facilitation and promotion of trade in wine in Australia and the UK.

In October 2023, DEFRA published a summary and Government response to a consultation document proposing a new regulatory framework for wine. The reform includes arrangements relating to the following:

Phase one (from 1 January 2024)

• Importer labelling
• Use of hybrid grape varieties in winemaking
• Production of piquette
• Blending imported wine in market
• Prescriptive use of foil wraps and mushroom stoppers for sparkling wine
• Domestic wine certification arrangements
• Prescriptive rules about bottle shapes
• Revoking retained Regulation (EC) 2019/935 setting out GB methods of analysis and controls on enrichment

Phase two (from 15 July 2024)

• Conditions of use pertaining to ice wine
• The process for introducing new oenological practices

Phase three (requires consultation)

• Transforming wine sector products in GB (for example, through carbonation, de-alcoholisation, sweetening, and fermenting). 

The United Kingdom Export Market Guide incorporates the wine reforms that have taken effect from 1 January 2024. The Wine (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2023 can be found here.