Wine prices to SOAR due to a shortage of bottles – and there could be a shortage of your fave tipple
WINE prices are set to soar due to a shortage of glass bottles, UK booze suppliers have warned.
Industry insiders reckon the cost of wine could rocket as soon as March this year as bottle manufacturers struggle to keep up with demand.
Experts blame suppliers stockpiling booze ahead of a no-deal Brexit and manufacturers opting to make spirit bottles instead, which are far more profitable, reports .
It's not just British wine that will be affected. The tipple is often imported in vast "flexi-tanks" from countries like Chile, Argentina and Australia and is then bottled in the UK.
Many supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons bulk buy wine in this way because it's cheaper than importing it pre-packaged, but supply isn't keeping up with demand.
This, coupled with the fact that it costs millions of pounds to invest in new furnaces to make bigger volumes of bottles, means that there could be a shortage on the horizon.
Suppliers will then have little choice but to agree to higher prices which will then be passed on to shoppers.
Wine is already set to become more expensive from next month when a tax shake-up is introduced, adding up to 50p on the cost of a bottle.
Broadland Wineries CEO Mark Lansley said: "As wine consumption starts to pick up around March to May, that's when you are going to see gaps on the supermarket shelves or brands going into different bottles than usual."
Sources said that the dire cost hikes were in double figures and even getting hold of enough of them was "worse than a "gun to the head" situation."
A weak pound against the euro due to Brexit uncertainty means that importing the packaging from mainland Europe is expensive too - the cost of which will have to be passed onto the shopper.
Gin sales hit a record high last year, with more than 16million bottles sold in the run up to Christmas, making it more profitable for producers to make spirit bottles which sell for twice as much.
MOST READ IN MONEY
Mark added that producers are "moving wine down their list of priorities".
Kingsland Drinks boss Andy Sagar told the magazine that bottle suppliers are trying to cut back on their orders for the for the first time in 20 years.
He added that an increase in demand for beer in glass bottles due to consumer consciousness of trying to reduce plastic usage is also playing a part in the shortage.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.
