I was reading about the UK budget while waiting for a bus in Oakland. They’re hiking duty on wine and spirits — not by a little, but by what the industry calls 'breath-taking' amounts. No one’s blaming the weather this time.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association says it’ll hit small producers hardest. Some importers already told me last week their Thai rum supplier might stop shipping to the UK altogether. Not because of politics — because the math stopped working.
I remember a similar thing in Moscow in ’07. Same language: 'temporary measure', 'fiscal responsibility', 'public health'. Then the price of my favourite Georgian wine doubled. I switched to tea. For three months. Then I left.
