Duty is the tax that we pay on wine and can often account for a large proportion of the shelf price. This is particularly pertinent in the UK where the duty on a bottle of wine is £2.23 excluding VAT. Tax on wines in the US works quite differently and varies from state to state. US federal wine excise rates are around $1.07 per gallon (for wines less than 14% alcohol).
The word duty in English was first used in this sense in 1474 although has other meanings that you will already be familiar with.
The root of the word due comes from Latin and French. Interestingly the word duty was created after the conquest of 1066 and doesn’t exist in continental French.
