Nearly $35,000 Of Taxpayer Money Went To Government Wine Cellar In This Country During COVID-19

The government in the United Kingdom spent nearly the equivalent of $35,000 taxpayer dollars on wine during the global pandemic, a new report finds. (Photo: Hannah Wagner/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

On Thursday, Wales Online reported that the U.K. Government spent a whopping £27,000 ($34,419) of taxpayers’ money to add more expensive bottles to a government wine cellar during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a delay, the bi-annual report was published by the British government’s Foreign Office on Thursday.

During the height of COVID-19 from 2020 to 2021, 516 bottles of red Bordeaux wines were purchased, costing approximately $36 each, per the report. The government additionally purchased 636 bottles of English and Welsh sparkling wines, including 180 magnums. It further procured 18 bottles of gin and four bottles of whisky and liqueurs, according to Wales Online.

Wales Online reported that 130 bottles of wine were consumed from 2020 to 2021.

The following year, 1,303 bottles of wine and spirits were consumed, still lower than the period from 2019 to 2020, when 3,300 bottles were imbibed by government officials, per Wales Online.

Before COVID-19, the cellar was “self-financed,” but sales were not possible during the Pandemic. The cellar’s origins date back to 1908, when the government set up a hospitality fund to entertain both domestic and international government guests.

The reports were released after repeated delays, according to The Guardian. On Dec. 29, the outlet reported that the release of the report was delayed by four times, leaving officials asking questions.

According to The Guardian, the list was meant to be published by early 2023 but was then punted to July and the fall before eventually releasing this week.

The Guardian reports that the delays meant two and a half years had passed since an official statement on the “usage, value, costs and stock levels of the wine cellar” was released.

A report published by BBC on Friday claimed the government defended its boozy spending spree, claiming that all events orchestrated by the government — despite lockdowns — were “in strict accordance with Covid-19 restrictions,” according to Foreign Officer Minister Andrew Mitchell.

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