Importing, selling and labelling wine
Requirements for importers, retailers and wholesalers selling and labelling wine in Great Britain.
Importing wine
You do not need to provide a VI-1 certificate if you are importing wine:
- into Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales)
- from the EU to Northern Ireland
You will need to provide an EU VI-1 pro-forma if you’re importing wine from outside the EU directly into Northern Ireland.
Paying tax on imported wine
Find out what tax and VAT you need to pay for wine imported into Great Britain.
Labelling and selling wine imported from EU and non-EU countries to Great Britain
Wine that you import into Great Britain must be labelled with the address of the importer or bottler, or both. You can use the EU importer or bottler’s details until 3031 SeptemberDecember 2022.2023.
If your wine was produced in the EU before 1 May 2021 it can be:
- labelled with the address of an importer or bottler based in the EU, Great Britain or Northern Ireland
- sold by wholesalers until 1 May 2023
- sold by retailers until stocks run out
If your wine was produced from 2 May 2021 it must be labelled with the address of the GB importer or bottler. It cannot be labelled with thean EU address as the responsible importer or bottler.
Labelling wine in Northern Ireland
If you’re marketing wine in Northern Ireland, you must use the name and address of the importer or bottler (if it’s a bulk import) that is based in the EU or Northern Ireland on the label.
Last updated
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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.
Update history
2025-04-09 10:10
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’.
2024-10-22 12:43
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.
2024-10-16 16:25
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.
2023-12-19 14:45
Updated with guidance on the new labelling laws for wine imports into England, coming into effect from 1 January 2024.
2022-10-28 10:16
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.
2022-09-21 10:35
Updated the imported wine labelling guidance. GB labelling changes have been delayed from 30 September 2022 until 31 December 2023.
2022-02-18 14:10
Updated because you no longer need a VI-1 to import wine to Great Britain or from the EU to Northern Ireland.