Wetherspoon to dump Champagne for Surrey fizz

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin put his money where his Brexiteering mouth is on Wednesday, announcing that the pub chain would switch out a number of its continental drinks for alternatives made in the UK and outside the EU from 9 July.

The FTSE 250 company said it would replace sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France with bubbly stuff from Surrey, via British winemaker Denbies, as well as a sparkling pinot chardonnay from Australian budget brand Hardys.

Wetherspoon pubs would also serve wheat beers from the UK and the US, including Blue Moon Belgian White, Thornbridge Versa Weisse Beer and SA Brains Atlantic White.

The company would continue to serve Kopparberg cider from Sweden for the time being, with Kopparberg confirming that it would be producing cider in the UK post-Brexit.

“This move helps us to broaden our horizons so that we create an improved offer for the two million customers who visit our pubs each week,” Martin said.

“It is the start of a review all products in the next six to 24 months, with the object of making our business more competitive.”

Tim Martin used the announcement as an opportunity to espouse what he sees as the great benefits of Brexit, before also admitting there was a major cost element to the move.

“The products we are now introducing are at lower prices than the EU products they are replacing,” he confirmed.

“We intend to honour existing contracts with EU suppliers, some of which have several years to run.”