Wine with Leslie: Punitive pricing for wine lovers in Budget 2024?
Pic: iStock
The annual Wine Market Report 2022 compiled by Drinks Ireland is out, and as usual, it gives interesting insights into what wines Irish people are drinking, and how much money we give to the Government.
Ireland remains the country with the highest excise rates in the EU — €3.19 per bottle. This is added to the price of a bottle of wine before it enters a shop, and then the overall price has 23% VAT added on top — a tax on a tax. A bottle of Sparkling Wine has an excise of €6.37 — the Government doubles the tax on celebratory fizzy wine for no particular reason other than to suck a little more joy out of our lives.
In the EU Ireland is easily the most expensive country to buy wine (based on my research). Finland has slightly higher tax when you include their 24% VAT, but their State-owned monopoly is able to survive on a smaller margin than an Irish wine retailer could ever manage. Finland also doesn’t penalise celebrations as they charge the same duty for still and sparkling wine.
Our punitive taxes on wine are a tax on the small farmers of our EU neighbours. Beer meanwhile is utterly dominated by multinationals but taxed less severely. And now we are adding on the extra cost of health labelling which I believe will see fewer wines from small quality producers on shelves.
Wine sales are down 3% on pre-pandemic levels, but sparkling sales are up as are non-alcoholic ‘wines’. Wine drinkers contributed €385 million to the Irish Exchequer, €3.5 billion over 10 years. Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan added €2 to a bottle of wine in the early 2010s at a time of economic crisis; it is only fair that Fine Gael reduce it now that Exchequer finances are healthy if only to protect jobs in wine and hospitality (which already had a 50% increase in their VAT rate from 9% to 13.5%).
Chile remains at number one with around 25% of the market followed by Spain at 14%, Australia at 13.6%, France at 11.6% and Italy at 10.4%. New Zealand is next at 6.4%, Argentina at 5% and South Africa at 2% with the rest making up 5%.
Wine selections this week are mainly from co-ops and that support small EU farmers.
Arneis is the best white grape of Piedmont but remains little known and underappreciated due to the region’s (deserved) fame for its red wines. Piedmont’s Roero sub-region also makes reds but I love its Arneis. This solid example has floral-tinged apple fruits, generous open fruit flavours and notes of caramelised apple on the finish.
Part of Lidl’s ‘Italian Cellar’ selection which began appearing on shelves on October 5th last. This has good Chianti typicity with ripe cherry fruit aromas, lively red and darker fruit flavours with good weight and soft supple fruits. I also liked Lidl’s new Nero di Troia (€9.99) and the bright red fruits in Refosco dal Peduncolo.
From the Zinio Co-operative in the heart of Rioja Alta, with grapes cultivated at around 450m above sea level. This is reduced from €15 at the moment and is a total bargain at this price with lively strawberry fruits overlaid with spice tints and a pleasing tang of blackberry and cherry on the mid palate. Juicy, fruity, delicious.
This is on offer this month and down from €19. From the same co-op as Paco Y Lola in the subregion of Salnés in Rias Baixas on the Atlantic coast of Celtic Galicia in NW Spain. Pear and soft apricot aromas, ripe and supple on the palate with apple pie fruits hitting the palate first but with a salty fresh finish.
From a progressive co-op in Abruzzo in Central Italy organic grapes, are hand-harvested, unfiltered and with low sulphur use. Bright dark garnet colour, cherry and berry fruit aromas with a touch of black tea. Fruit-focused and ripe on the palate with touches of liquorice and blackberry — a perfect pizza match.
The Protos Co-Op in Ribera del Duero was once a lifesaver for grape farmers in this once-neglected region of Northern Spain. These days migration is down and the region has deserved fame and the co-ops' wines are better than ever. Expressive and lively fruit flavours with dark plums and blackberry flavours. The Crianza and Reserva are even better.
This new limited edition Redbreast only became available in late September but already seems to be sold out in the Midleton Shop so best to seek it out in good independent whiskey retailers. Standard Redbreast aged in Oloroso and Bourbon casks was re-casked into Tawny Port hogsheads for a further 14-25 months. The result is remarkable.
Pours a light gold colour with creamy toffee and candied pecan aromas and a touch of honey. Sweet on the attack with caramel to the fore, chocolate on the mid-palate with some nutty richness — vanilla, black pepper and spice notes linger on the finish. A little sweeter than most Redbreast iterations but all the more delicious as a result.
