Brexit causes dip in government quaffing

The Brexit vote last June has led to a 12% dip in the amount of wine drunk from the government’s official cellars, a report has revealed.

As reported by the BBC, the drinking downturn was a result of fewer receptions held by the government during the Brexit referendum.

However, it seems ministers are drinking less but better, with the average price of a bottle of wine bought to replenish the cellars rising from £11 to £15 this year.

In the last year ministers, government officials and visiting dignitaries have quaffed their way through 3,261 bottles of wine from the government’s extensive cellar, with English and Welsh wines making up the majority of drops enjoyed.

After homegrown wines, Bordeaux and Burgundy proved the most popular, while New World wines were somewhat shunned, with just one American and one Chilean wine lifted from the cellar in the last year.

Gin consumption over the last year was relatively modest, at just 28 bottles, while the corks were popped on 48 bottles of Champagne.

The average price of a bottle of wine drunk at government events was £12.

The cellar, located beneath Lancaster House near Buckingham Palace, is stocked with 33,669 bottles of wine valued at £804,811.