Communion wine can be sold by the box

24 November 2005 08:30

A Norfolk Christian bookshop will be one of only two in the country to continue the 300-year-old practice of selling Communion wine following the change in licensing laws.

The same law change that is allowing bars and clubs to serve alcohol for longer will stop the majority of the 25 SPCK branches selling the wine because of the prohibitive expense of the new licences and the conditions relating to them.

Licences cost about £600, plus a £180 annual renewal fee, and there will be a requirement for the first time for at least two members of staff to be in the shop the whole time.

But the Norwich SPCK already has a licence for its café, which is part of the bookshop and resource centre at St Michael at Plea Church in the city.

Steve Foyster, Norwich resource- centre manager, said it was fortunate that Norfolk churches would be able to continue buying through the branch and not go through wholesalers.

Leicester is the only other branch planning to continue selling the wine although the head of SPCK nationally said he hoped to set up links between wholesalers to make it easier for churches to order it.

Mr Foyster said: "We are lucky to have the café anyway and it now means we can continue selling the wine.

"It is very fortunate, the café licence covers selling the wine in boxes to account holders as long as we don't sell bottles."

However, the shop cannot deliver further afield as couriers will not handle cases of wine.

The remaining 23 branches of the society, which was formed in 1698, have reluctantly abandoned sales and churches will now have to order deliveries through wholesalers.

Malcolm Munro-Faure, the director of the SPCK's chain of shops in England and Wales, said the society had become a "victim of sorts".

"It would be wonderful if they could find some exemption for this small element. It was a very important service for our customers.

"We have left it up to individual managers, but most of our shops simply cannot afford to have two staff members on the premises the whole time, the licences are too expensive and there will be an administrative burden," he said.

Vino Sacro sells at £70 to £85 for a case of 12 bottles and is 15pc alcohol, which is stronger than its competitors.

The SPCK insists that this is about preservation rather than customer satisfaction and wine is watered down considerably before use.

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