Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of the UK joining the World Wine Trade Group; and if she will make a statement.

The Government has not completed an assessment of the benefits of joining the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG). However I can report that at the WWTG's request, a representative from the British Consulate in San Francisco attended this year's annual WWTG meeting in Santa Rosa, California. They gave a short address to the meeting covering various UK wine related topics including importer labelling, met with WWTG members and learned more about the various strands of work that are being progressed.