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Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit reviewPublished2 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsBrexitImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Pint of Prosecco? Legislation will introduce new bottle sizes for sparkling wine in shopsBy Paul SeddonPolitics reporterPint-sized bottles of still and sparkling wine are to appear on shelves in the UK, the government has said.The new 568ml size will offer more choice for customers, according to the Department for Business and Trade. It also said it will not introduce new rules on selling in imperial measures.Legislation to be tabled in the new year will see the pint-sized bottles sold in supermarkets, pubs, clubs and restaurants.After Brexit, ministers had looked at changing laws inherited from the EU that mean traders can use Britain’s traditional weighing system only alongside the metric one. The new legislation will also allow still wine to be sold in 200ml containers, potentially paving the way for an expansion in the canned wine market.While sparkling wines will be allowed to be sold in 500ml bottles, between a standard full (750ml) and half (375ml) size.Currently, still wine cannot be sold in 200ml quantities and sparkling wine cannot be sold in 500ml amounts.However, it remains to be seen what the demand will be for pint-sized wine bottles among producers and bottlers.Pint-sized bottles for champagne were said to be the favourite size of British wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill, and were on shelves until 1973 when the UK joined the European Common Market. The government has confirmed it is not planning to change the rules on selling in imperial measures after Brexit.Ministers looked at changing laws inherited from the EU that mean traders can use Britain’s traditional weighing system only alongside the metric one.EU rules meant traders could display imperial measurements – such as pounds and ounces – only alongside metric, and they could not be more prominent.They hit the headlines in 2001 following the prosecution of the “metric martyrs”, a group of market traders convicted of selling goods using only imperial, although they were not enforced rigorously afterwards.The rules were initially copied over after Brexit, but Boris Johnson’s government subsequently announced they would be reviewed as part of a plans to “capitalise on the benefits of Brexit”.The then-prime minister pledged to change the rules ahead of the 2019 election, calling imperial measurements an “ancient liberty” and adding he saw “no reason why people should be prosecuted” for using them.But the government has now said it will not change the rules, after 98.7% of respondents to a consultation favoured using metric as the main measurement unit for sales, as now, or as the only unit.Related TopicsWineBrexitMore on this storyWill Britain stay metric after Brexit?Published21 September 2016Imperial units just part of Brexit revamp – No 10Published17 September 2021UK to keep EU safety mark in Brexit climbdownPublished1 AugustWine definition to be watered down in post-Brexit movePublished17 October
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