Shoppers slash spending on wine

Irish people have drastically cut their consumption of wine following the introduction of the 50c levy in the budget.

Kantar Worldpanel’s latest supermarket monitor found more than 50,000 people have stopped buying bottles of wine as a result of the levy. Commercial director at Kantar Worldpanel, David Berry, said the rise in cost was responsible for people changing shopping habits.

“Increased duty on alcohol as part of the October budget has affected wine in particular, where the average price has increased by 16%,” said Mr Berry.