“Cantina Italia”: stocks at 60.9 million hectoliters of wine in January 2026 (+5.9% yearly)

2026 has begun with what has now become a certainty, besides being a general problem for Italian wine producers: high stock levels in wineries. Factors such as stagnant consumption, slow sales, exports hindered by tariffs but also by the growing health-conscious trend, and the economic difficulties many are facing continue to weigh on volumes and, consequently, on inventories. The update of January 31st, 2026 of “Cantina Italia”, prepared by the Icqrf, the central inspectorate for quality protection and fraud prevention of agri-food products, basing on data contained in the digital wine registers published by the Ministry of Agriculture, states that there are 60.9 million stocked hectoliters, +2.4% compared to December 31st, 2025 (equivalent to +1.4 million hectoliters) and +5.9% compared to January 31st, 2025 (+3.3 million hectoliters). To this figure, 6.4 million hectoliters of musts and 601,663 hectoliters of new wine still in fermentation (Vnaif) must be added , respectively +26.5% and +12.6% compared to January 31st, 2025, although compared to the latest survey on December 31st, 2025, both data appear significantly lower for musts (-17.3%) and Vnaif (-78.9%).
56.8% of the wine is stocked in northern regions, primarily in Veneto (26%). Overall, 53.5% of wine stocks are PDO (32.5 million hectoliters), with white wines accounting for 26.8%, reds for 25.2%, and rosés for 1.5%. 26.7% of stocks are PGI wines (16.2 million hectoliters), with red wines representing 14.2%, white wines 11.4%, and rosé wines 1%. Varietal wines make up just 1.5% of the total, while 18.3% falls into the category of other wines. PGI wine stocks are highly concentrated, with 20 denominations out of 531 accounting for 58.5% of total inventories.
Prosecco Dop accounts for 11.7% of all stocks, with 5.7 million hectoliters, followed by Igp Puglia (2.2 million hectoliters, 4.5% of the total), Igp Toscana (1.8 million hectoliters, 3.7% of the total), Igp Terre Siciliane (1.7 million hectoliters), Doc Delle Venezie (1.69 million hectoliters), Igp Salento (1.65 million hectoliters), Igp Veneto (1.58 million hectoliters), Doc Sicilia (1.56 million hectoliters), Chianti Docg (1.45 million hectoliters), and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (1.41 million hectoliters).