Tesco contra British Government 1:0

In his budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling said that one of his reasons for upping duty was that the price of wine in supermarkets had fallen over the last ten years.

 Tesco has slashed the price of hundreds of wines in half as part
of its Autumn wine festival — a move which is sure to heap further
pressure on pubs.

As the on-trade struggles against the credit crunch, declining
visits, rising costs and another poor summer, Tesco is offering
customers some bottles of wine for under £3 a bottle for a case
of six.

However, it seems the supermarkets have the buying power to ignore
the duty rises and continue to use alcohol as a loss-leader at the
expense of community pubs.