Importing wine
How to certify and label wine imported into Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Certification for imported wine
If you’re importing wine from outside the EU directly into Northern Ireland, you need to provide an EU VI-1 pro-forma. This is to certify that the wine complies with EU regulations.
You do not need to provide a VI-1 pro-forma to import wine:
- into England, Scotland and Wales (from anywhere in the world)
- into Northern Ireland from the EU
Paying tax on imported wine
Find out what tax and VAT you need to pay for wine imported into Great Britain.
Labelling wine imported into England
On 1 January 2024, new labelling rules came into effect for all wine imported into England.
Wine imported into England must show the name and address of a business that:
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is based in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man
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takes responsibility for marketing the wine
You do not need to use the words ‘importer’ or ‘imported by’.
Wine moving to England from Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man must also meet this requirement.
This wine can be moved to Scotland and Wales for sale, without the need to change the label.
EU wine labelled before 1 January 2024
Wine imported directly into England from the EU does not need to be re-labelled to comply with the current rules if any of the following apply:
- it’s already been labelled in accordance with applicable rules at that time, and is being aged
- it’s already in the supply chain
- it was placed on the market before 1 January 2024
Non-EU wine
All wine imported directly into England from countries outside of the EU must comply with the current labelling rules.
Labelling wine imported into Scotland or Wales
Wine imported directly into Scotland or Wales must show the wine importer’s address, and prefix it with the term ‘importer’ or ‘imported by’.
This wine can be moved to England for sale, without the need to change the label.
Labelling wine moving from England to Northern Ireland
Wine moving from England to Northern Ireland using the Northern Ireland retail movement scheme (to be marketed in Northern Ireland) must show the name and address of a business that is based in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
Other wine labelling rules
Wine sold in the UK must also meet other labelling requirements.
Read wine labelling guidance from the Food Standards Agency.
Updates to this page
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Clarified the labelling requirement for wine imported to England, and imported wine that moves between UK nations. Removed information that is no longer required.
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Updated section 'Labelling wine imported directly into Scotland and Wales'. Direct imports to Scotland and Wales by businesses based in either Scotland or Wales will need to show the wine importer's address, and prefix it with the term ‘importer’ or ‘imported by’.
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For the 2024 harvest, Defra has authorised the enrichment of grapevine products up to a maximum of 3.5%. This now applies to Great Britain.
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For the 2024 harvest, Defra has authorised the enrichment of grapevine products up to a maximum of 3.5% in England. Added information about this authorisation to the page.
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Updated with guidance on the new labelling laws for wine imports into England, coming into effect from 1 January 2024.
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Removed the second and third paragraphs in the section 'Labelling and selling wine imported from EU and non-EU countries to Great Britain.' Importer labelling requirements are being permanently removed at the end of 2023.
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Updated the imported wine labelling guidance. GB labelling changes have been delayed from 30 September 2022 until 31 December 2023.
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Updated because you no longer need a VI-1 to import wine to Great Britain or from the EU to Northern Ireland.
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First published.