Government to sell off fine wine
By Philippa Silverman - 13th May 2011
The government is going to sell some of the most expensive wine in its cellar, in a bid to cut costs.
No extra money will be spent on wine during this Parliament and any future purchases will instead be made through the sales of "high value stock", Foreign Office minister Henry Bellingham said.
The "self-financing" of wines could see the taxpayer save nearly half a million pounds over the life of this Parliament.
The future of the cellar, containing £2m worth of wine and spirits, had been under review the past 11 months, to ensure it was "appropriate to the contemporary environment" in providing value for money.
It concluded that retaining the government wine cellar was still the cheapest way of providing wine for hospitality events.
In a written ministerial statement, Bellingham said: "I seriously considered abolishing the cellar, but all the evidence shows that we will save the taxpayer money by keeping the cellar and reforming it so that wine purchases are self funded through sales.
"The cellar has been part of government functions for nearly a century and through these reforms it will provide value for money, accountability and will continue to offer hospitality to important guests from around the world."
Parliament will be given an annual statement of the use on the cellar, outlining any purchases, what has been consumed and its value for money.
Labour MP Tom Watson had long called for the government to release details of the vintage wines held in the cellar.
Following a series of parliamentary questions and a Freedom of Information request, he uncovered that the cellar included a Chateau Petrus 1978 worth more than £2,500 and a bottle of Chateau Latour 1955, worth about £1,000.
Article Comments
Sensible. Similar to what many Oxbridge colleges do, buying young wine to lay down and selling surplus old wine to members at a cost that helps fund replacement. It means that you can provide good wine for hospitality at a cheaper cost than buying from wine merchants.
If only I had a wine cellar myself...
DavidInScotland
14th May 2011 at 1:30 pm
This is a highly sensible strategy provided one has an intelligent buyer since the government's funding costs must be below those of any competitor. The assumption that the profits on sale of surplus bottles will fund purchases to fully cover consumption as well as future sales sounds either mildly optimistic or an exposure of an offensive level of profits "earned" by wine merchants.
John77
13th May 2011 at 3:17 pm
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.