Repealing EU retention laws would “put a missile under” the UK’s domestic wine industry and potentially boost vineyards by £180 million, according to the Environment Secretary.
A host of Brussels regulations retained after Brexit will be discarded as part of the EU Law (Repeal and Reform) Bill, including some affecting Britain's booming wine sector.
Therese Coffey said the changes being introduced through the legislation will give vineyards “the freedom they need to thrive.”
The comments come in the wake of a row in the Conservative Party after the government watered down its plans to rid the British law books of remaining EU rules.
Conservative MPs supporting Britain's exit from the European Union were angry after ministers confirmed that 600 EU laws would be repealed instead of the 4,000 that had been promised.
The government had originally promised to put a “sunset” clause on all laws carried over from the trading bloc by the end of 2023 under the Retained EU Law Bill.
Former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has criticized the revised zero-waste plan as “pathetically unambitious”.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said getting rid of bloc regulations on winemakers would give companies the freedom to choose from a wider range of vines, including more disease-resistant varieties.
Restrictions that currently prevent the wine industry from producing new blends will also be removed, while bottling companies will be able to convert imported wine into sparkling wine.
Packaging requirements — such as stipulating that some sparkling wines must have foil caps and mushroom stoppers — will be lifted when the legislation is passed.
These bottle caps can be expensive and cumbersome, ministry officials said, and the change would likely mean more choices for consumers as producers cut costs.
Cabinet Minister Dame Coffey said: “The UK has more than 800 thriving vineyards at home and a wine trade worth hundreds of millions of pounds passes through UK ports every year.
“But our producers have long been left behind by burdensome legacy EU regulations. We will give them the freedom they need to succeed.
“These reforms will put a rocket under our winemakers’ businesses – growing the economy, creating jobs and supporting a vital part of our food and drink sector.”
“Reforming and eliminating burdensome regulation will help grow the economy and provide businesses with the much-needed freedoms to innovate, create and thrive,” said Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch.
Miles Bell, chief executive of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, said: “We welcome the range of measures proposed today, many of which we have proposed publicly.
“By providing greater flexibility, wine producers and importers will not have to do anything differently, but will be able to innovate.”
The consultation, which is expected to start taking views soon, will seek views on the nature, scope and timing of all proposed changes from a variety of industry stakeholders, Defra said.
The UK wine industry has boomed in recent years.
Winemaker Chapel Down, a Kent-based company, reported in March that sales rose more than 50% during 2022, selling a record 790,000 bottles from a “premium” crop that allowed it to produce more than 2 million bottles of wine.
