Are we really drinking more wine during the coronavirus crisis?

Home drinking is up, but overall sales are plummeting. Meanwhile, some enterprising producers are turning to webinar tastings to keep customers happy

Have the British turned to drink in the current crisis? When you’re stuck in front of an online merchant’s checkout page, waiting for an elusive and inevitably distant delivery slot, that feels like the logical conclusion.

It’s backed up by sales figures. According to market research firm IWSR, sales of beer, wine and spirits in supermarkets and off-licences were up by a fifth in the first week of lockdown at the end of March, while online sales of alcohol for the same period jumped an unprecedented 50%.