The Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) says it won't be raising a glass of sparkling wine to the Chancellor today following his decision to raise the tax on the bubble by 7 pence a bottle.
Jeremy Beadles said: "We are shocked and deeply disappointed by the Chancellor's decision to increase duty on sparkling wine by 7 pence a bottle. "Sparkling wine already suffers from a higher tax rate than still wine, but in previous years the Chancellor has seemed determined to get rid of this anomaly."
"This is a startling U-turn for the Chancellor and will have a serious impact particularly on the burgeoning English and Welsh wine market. 15% of wine produced in the UK is sparkling, and this duty hike will deal a real blow to this domestic industry."
On other duty announcements, Beadles said: "We welcome the Chancellor's decision to once again freeze duty on spirits, although UK spirits remain amongst the most heavily taxed products in the European marketplace."
"I am disappointed that the Chancellor has not listened to our calls to freeze still wine duty. We already have one of the highest levels of tax on wine in Europe. Although wine has been a growth category in the UK for several years now, the figures for 2006 show a considerable slowing in wine sales.
"Combining high taxes with increasing costs means that the UK wine sector, which is already extremely competitive, risks becoming an unattractive market to suppliers resulting in reduced choice and quality for the consumer."