In French bars and restaurants, people toast with Prosecco: in 2025, purchase volumes were up 22.6%

In a struggling market, Prosecco, the driving force behind Italian wine exports, is bucking the trend. In France, the home of Champagne, it was the wine that saw the greatest growth in 2025 (+22.6%) in terms of purchase volumes by French bars, restaurants, and hotels, with a triple-digit surge (+175%) since 2019. This is evident from a study (“Étude de l’approvisionnement de la restauration en vin auprès des grossistes et Cash & Carry en 2025”), published by FranceAgriMer, which aims to measure wine purchases made by the commercial foodservice sector through organized distribution channels. This is undoubtedly an important channel; in fact, estimates indicate that purchases by the commercial foodservice sector through organized distribution account for approximately 40% of the wine market in terms of volume. Overall, wine sales in the CHD channel (cafés, hotels, and restaurants) in 2025 decreased in both volume (-3.6% compared to 2024) and value (-3.8%), with prices remaining stable. Compared to pre-crisis levels, volumes continue to decline (-21.1%); in terms of value, however, the increase in the average price (+15.5%) mitigates this decline, though it does not prevent the market’s overall contraction (-8.9%).
In 2025, compared to 2024, still wines recorded a decline of -4.9% in volume (129 million hectoliters) and -5.2% in value (587 million euros); in contrast, sparkling and semi-sparkling wines will see a 6.3% increase in volume (18 million hectoliters) and a more modest rise (+0.9%) in revenue (193 million euros), although the latter is partly due to a 5% decrease in the average selling price (10.7 euros per 75 cl). Still wines, however, account for approximately 88% of total sales by volume in the CHD channel, while sparkling and semi-sparkling wines account for 12% of volumes and are the only category to have recovered to 2019 levels, exceeding them by +16.5% in volume and +6.2% in value.
Among sparkling wines, the majority of volume is accounted for by Champagne, Prosecco, Lambrusco, Crémant d’Alsace, and Crémant de Loire. However, compared to 2024, Prosecco saw the sharpest growth in 2025, with volumes up 22.6%, while Champagne, which accounts for 21% of sales volumes, saw a 5.5% decline. Looking at 2019, the increase in volume observed for sparkling wines as a whole is primarily due to the growth of Prosecco (+175%), while Champagne remains 25.7% below pre-crisis levels.
As for average prices, all categories of sparkling wines have seen an increase since 2019, with the exception of Cava, whose price has fallen by 6%. For the other categories, prices have risen by 17% for Champagne (21.16 euros/75 cl equivalent) and by 5% for Prosecco (5.3 euros/75 cl equivalent), although the largest increase since 2019 has been for Crémant de Bourgogne, which has risen by 21%.
As for other types of wine, red wines are losing ground to dry whites. Despite a decline in volume across all categories, dry whites are holding up better and gaining market share (+6% since 2019), even though, compared to 2024, their volume has fallen by 13,500 hectoliters, while that of rosés has fallen by 16,446 hectoliters. However, red wines recorded the sharpest decline, with a reduction of 34,500 hectoliters.
Final note on overall consumption: The number of meals served in the French foodservice market saw a slight decline (-0.1% compared to 2024), totaling 7.4 billion units, while revenue amounted to 85.6 billion euros (after taxes), marking an increase of +0.9% compared to 2024. Consumers continue to adjust their eating-out habits, with 45% adapting their restaurant experiences to keep costs down, to the point that they are choosing more affordable establishments. However, there are also those who continue to frequent their usual dining spots and opt for items on sale or reduce the number of dishes they order. Overall, in 2025, the out-of-home dining sector will see a very slight decline in the number of reservations (-0.1%), and the sector’s revenue will exceed that of 2019 (the pre-COVID year), though rising prices partly account for this increase in value.