The retailer has closed all of its 350 stores and, according to administrator KPMG, the staff made redundant include both full-time and part-time workers.
Administrator Myles Halley said: 'I appreciate it is a particularly difficult time of year to announce such news but we have no alternative but to cease trading and make these redundancies.'
Unwins bosses tried to sell several stores recently but were unsuccessful.
The beleaguered chain is also being threatened with legal action. The group's private equity backer DM Private Equity is threatening to sue the former owners over missing assets and accounting deficiencies.
DM has issued instructions to its solicitors to pursue all available remedies against the former directors of Unwins, the auditors of Unwins and all 84 shareholders of Unwins.
Unwins had come under increasing pressure from supermarkets, which have become more dominant in beer and wine retailing.
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