Tory pint plan falls flat for maker of Churchill’s fave fizz
A Tory scheme to bring back pint-sized wine bottles has gone flat after the champagne firm that supplied Winston Churchill said it would not “bash down the door” to make them again. The wartime PM was a fan of the imperial servings, declaring the bottles just “enough for two at lunch and one for dinner”.
The 568ml wine measure was axed in 1973, when we joined the EU and adopted the metric system. A standard full bottle contains 750ml and Rishi Sunak ’s Government prematurely popped the cork on a post-Brexit victory recently, fizzing with excitement at the imperial measure’s return in the New Year.
Winston Churchill with champagne (AP)But French producer Pol Roger – which kept Churchill in stock – warns that the necessary bottles no longer exist. And making them from scratch means they will not hit shops for at least four years, as bubbly must sit in a bottle that long until it is ready. Pol Roger’s UK boss James Simpson said: “The issue is there are physically no pint-sized wine bottles ready to take champagne. There aren’t containers waiting at Calais. They frankly don’t even exist in our cellars.
James Simpson“We like the history of the pint bottle but the practicalities seem to have passed us by. If the new measure is put into law we might consider it but we aren’t going to be bashing down the door.” The revelation will pour cold water on the Tories’ plan, which includes servings of 200ml for still wine and 500ml for sparkling. But still and sparkling wine might be ready sooner, Mr Simpson added, as the bottling process is shorter.
Pol Roger’s alert came just days after English wine producers warned that they were unlikely to adopt the new pint measure, citing increased costs and concerns over taste. Voters opted to stick with the metric system after Brexit, with 99% showing support in a Government survey.
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