A new report released by Ibec trade association Drinks Ireland | Wine has found that Irish wine drinkers pay the highest excise level on wine in the EU, paying €3.19 per standard bottle of wine (13% ABV).
Wine sales in 2022 showed no real change compared to the year earlier, and remain almost 3% below pre-pandemic figures.
Overall, per capita consumption of wine was also down by 2% last year.
Trends
The report found that wine’s market share in Ireland decreased by 8.9% in 2022 and 17% on the market share recorded in 2020.
However, wine still remains Ireland’s second favourite drink after beer.
Chilean Wine
Chilean wine remains the most popular wine sold in Ireland, holding 24.7% of the market share.
Spanish, Australian and French wines were the next favourites respectively.
South African wine saw the biggest market share growth by 10%.
White Wine Most Popular
The report found that white wine remained the favourite of the category (48% market share) while red is a close second (45%) and rosé decreased slightly (6%).
Sparkling wine is gaining popularity among Irish people, with its market share up from 2% in 2021 to 2.3% in 2022.
High Excise Level
The report highlights that Irish wine drinkers face the highest excise level on wine in the EU, paying €3.19 per standard bottle of wine (13% ABV).
For sparkling wine drinkers, the excise hit is doubled that, with a rate of €6.37 on a standard bottle.
The wine sector as whole contributed €385 million in excise alone to the exchequer.
'Disproportionally High'
"It is therefore disappointing that Irish consumers continue to pay disproportionally high levels of excise duty," said Cormac Healy, director of Drinks Ireland.
"We are calling for a 15% decrease on alcohol excise duty over the next two budgets, easing the burden on hard pressed consumers and businesses and moving us somewhat closer to EU norms.”
