Member of the Senedd for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Samuel Kurtz has highlighted the success of Pembrokeshire’s award-winning Velfrey Vineyard in the Senedd as they compete in the ‘Best Food and Drink’ category of the Countryside Alliance Awards - but along with the business’ owner has voiced concerns to the Welsh Government about the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in Wales.

Andy Mounsey, owner of Velfrey Vineyard which is based in Lampeter Velfery near Narberth, who is also Chair of the Welsh Vineyards Association, which represents winemakers across Wales, has said that the proposed scheme, which breaks from the rest of the UK by including glass, poses challenges for Welsh drink producers, including winemakers, would have a ‘chilling effect’ on the growth of the Welsh vineyards sector.

“All vineyards in Wales are small, family-run businesses – many are very newly established and it is several years until they will be able to turn a profit,” he remarked.

“They don’t have the time or the resources to implement a complicated scheme, and associated costs would have a disproportionate impact on their bottom line.

“DRS operating differently on either side of the border would add to the complication and make Welsh vineyards less competitive than their English counterparts. Finally, the pressure inside a bottle of traditional method sparkling wine is such that reuse is not considered safe.

“We would urge Welsh Government to consider removing glass altogether from the DRS.”

Samuel Kurtz, who raised this issue in the Senedd, added: “It is totally unacceptable for the Welsh Labour Government to add all of this extra cost and bureaucracy to our winemakers, as well as to other small drink producers in Wales.

“By ignoring these calls, the Welsh Labour are basically telling Welsh vineyards to put a cork in it and that is unacceptable.”