Let's talk about Responsiblity

How much is too much?

The government advises that people should not regularly drink more than their weekly unit guidelines:

Men: 14 units of alcohol

Women: 14 units of alcohol

This advice applies regardless of how often you drink alcohol; you shouldn't interpret the guidance as allowing you to "save up" your units, it's best to spread evenly across the week.

What is a unit?

The size and strength of your drink will determine the number of units it contains. It's not quite as simple as one drink, one unit - a glass of wine can range between just over one unit and more than three units depending on the size of the glass and type of wine.

Remember, when you're drinking at home, you tend to pour measures that are larger than you get in your local.

Unit Calculator >

Alcohol and the Law

The law on alcohol covers such areas as underage drinking, drink driving and drinking in public places. The full facts can be found on the Drinkaware website. Find out more >

Our Commitment

We do not sell alcohol to anyone that we believe to be intoxicated.

We operate a Challenge 25 policy in our stores and on delivered sales, always asking for a recognised form of ID when we have reason to believe that the customer or person receiving goods may be under the age of 25.

We do not sell alcohol to customers whom we suspect of passing alcohol to under 18s.

We do not offer any incentives to our customers to drink irresponsibly.

We support the Portman Group's Code of Practice regarding the responsible naming, packaging and promotion of alcoholic drinks.

Our staff have easy access to information about alcohol by volume (ABV) and alcohol units, for customers' benefit as well as their own.

The ABV of every alcoholic product we sell can be found on our website and on the product label.

Water is always available free of charge at any of our tastings and on tasting tables throughout the week. We encourage our customers to use spittoons during store tastings, both through clear signage at our 'Tasting Counters' and through staff example.

Leading Industry Standards

We believe that our industry can and should work together to promote the responsible enjoyment of alcohol and that collectively, we can positively change the nation's relationship with alcohol.

We are an active member of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

We are a Gold Corporate Sponsor of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the educating body for the wine and spirits trade.

Every year we offer all staff the opportunity to complete the WSET intermediate, advanced or diploma certificates. These are offered free of charge to our employees. The courses cover content on the principles of alcohol and social responsibility.

We are a supporter and funder of the Drinkaware trust, an independent, public-facing body with the objective of changing the UK's drinking habits for the better.