GOODBYE TO PROSECCO, CAVA AND CHAMPAGNE: BRITISH EMBASSIES AROUND THE WORLD WILL SERVE ONLY BRITISH BUBBLES. DOWNING STREET PUSHES THROUGH DIRECTIVES AND LAW PROPOSALS, WHILE BUCKINGHAM PALACE SETS THE EXAMPLE

Goodbye to Prosecco, Cava and Champagne. British embassies around the globe will serve British bubbles. It is not actually because of Brexit, but it is the outcome of a political resolve in place for years. In 2016 Downing Street uncorked exclusively Ridgeview and Chapel Down for their official toasts, and a bill submitted to House of Commons at the beginning of the year, requires embassies to serve British bubbles and spirits.
Sir Simon McDonald, head of the diplomatic service, promptly encouraged officials to do so, delegating the selection of six sparkling wines and four gins to WSTA - Wine and Spirit Trade Association, with the clear objective of supporting the growth of a still marginal sector, but very promising, to say the least.
“I find it fair to encourage British government representatives around the world”, Miles Beale, Director General of WSTA, told UK Decanter magazine (www.decanter.com), “to show the best that England has to offer. Our embassies and high commissions around the world can play an important role in supporting the British wine sector”. Moreover, Buckingham Palace also served British wines at State dinners with Chinese President Xi-Jinping and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. It's hard to know if they were surprised, happy, or slightly disappointed, expecting to be served famous Champagne.