Global bulk wine, a sharp decline in value to €566 million (-18.8%) in the first quarter of 2026

Also due (but not only) to increasingly “lower-yielding” harvests - but still able to satisfy domestic consumption and exports, and, therefore, with a reduced need to purchase wine from other countries - world exports of bulk wine in the first quarter of 2026 suffered a sharp decline. They fell by -18.8% in value to EUR 566 million and by -18.9% in volume to 7.1 million hectolitres, while average prices remained almost unchanged at EUR 80 per hectolitre (+0.1%). These are the data from Vinexposium’s “Bulk Wine Markets Evolution up to March” 2026, one of the global leaders for events dedicated to wine and spirits professionals and operators (signature of the international fair “Wine Paris”, ed.), with analysis by Rafael del Rey/Del Rey Analysts of Wine Markets (AWM). According to this, on an annual basis, bulk wine exports decreased by 11.8% in value (standing at 2.3 billion euros) and 10.3% in volume (dropping to 30 million hectolitres), with average prices slightly decreasing to 78 euros per hectolitre. The pace of decline is, therefore, accelerating and, compared with the trend in the global wine market, the negative performance of bulk wine exports is worse than average, recording a downturn of -6.6% in volume and -8.8% in value.
As for bulk wine “actual”, that is, wine shipped in containers with a capacity of more than 10 litres, the report explains, Spain remains by far the world’s leading exporter. In one year, from March 2025 to March 2026, it exported 10.2 million hectoliters, despite a -5.2% drop in shipping volumes. However, rising prices, driven by a poorer harvest in the Northern Hemisphere, pushed turnover up 0.9% to €538 million. In the first quarter of the year, all major producers except South Africa, France and Argentina reduced their bulk wine sales. Italy, again from March 2025 to March 2026, is the third largest supplier in terms of value with 273 million euros (-11.3%), behind Spain and New Zealand (292 million euros, - 20.6%), and the third largest supplier country, preceded by Spain and Australia, with 3.1 million hectoliters (-13.3%). The average price, however, rose to 0.88 euros (+2.3%). In the first quarter of 2026, Italy plummeted in bulk wine imports, reaching 12 million euros in value (-56.1%), for 0.2 million hectoliters (-52.9%) at an average price of 0.52 euros per litre. With 126 million euros in the first quarter of 2026, the United Kingdom is the leading importer of bulk wine (-9.7%), time period in which Germany leads in bulk imported volumes at 1.6 million hectolitres (-7.6%).
Since 2017, EU bulk wine exports, the report explains, have fallen by 5.1% in value and 21.2% in volume, following an average price increase of +20.3% over nearly a decade. However, the trend varied considerably according to colour type: exports of white wine in bulk fell by only -7.3% in volume, while those of red and rosé wines recorded a decline of -33.6%. In terms of value, the gap was even more marked: white wines saw revenues grow by +20.9%, compared to a -23.7% decline for reds and rosés. In the first quarter of the year, however, white wines performed slightly worse than reds and rosés in terms of value, with a decline of -14.3% versus -11.2% respectively, while maintaining a better hold in terms of volume.