The price of wine could jump by 44p a bottle thanks to a “two-pronged attack” on drinkers by Jeremy Hunt.
In Wednesday’s Budget the chancellor is set to confirm alcohol duties will rise with inflation - currently running at around 10% - from August 1, bringing to an end the current freeze.
The price hike will coincide with the introduction of a new system which will see alcoholic drinks taxed based on their strength.
According to the The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) it means wine drinkers are facing the biggest single increase in almost 50 years, with 90% of all wine set to cost more.
A 75cl bottle of vodka is also set to increase in price by 75p, a bottle of port will cost £1.29 more and a bottle of sherry will be 97p more expensive.
But some drinks will drop in price, including a pre-mixed 250 ml cans of G&T which will be 5p cheaper and sparkling wine, which will cost 19p less.
Miles Beale, the chief executive of the WSTA, said: “The UK’s 33 million wine drinkers are blissfully unaware that the price of wine is set to rocket this summer.
“If the chancellor goes ahead with a two-pronged attack on wine drinkers by adding an inflationary duty increase on top of the stealth tax already applied when the government’s new alcohol duty regime kicks in this summer, duty alone will add 44p to a bottle of still wine.
“If alcohol duty rates went up by RPI, this will be a crippling blow to the UK alcohol industry and consumers who will have to pay the price for tax rises during a cost-of-living crisis.”
Hunt had previously announced that the freeze on alcohol duty would come to an end in February as part of efforts to raise money after Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-Budget last autumn.
However, the Treasury then decided to extend the freeze until August.