WINES from a clutch of nations in and around the Balkans in Eastern Europe have seen their sales soar in the UK since June 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union.
The shift in tastes is no coincidence, according to wine specialist Majestic, which has pointed to “creeping Brexit wine price hikes” as a driving force behind the 400% value sales increase it has seen for wines from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia.
At the opposite end of Europe, Portugal has also seen a bounce in sales, according to Majestic, with red wine from Lisboa seeing off competition from Spain, France and the New World to become the retailer’s most popular.
Highlighting recent figures from the Wine and Spirit Association which puts the average price of a bottle of wine at an all-time-high of £5.55, Majestic says “savvy British consumers” are broadening their wine horizons in their search for quality and value.
