In January 2026, export of Italian wine gets “in debt”: -18.7% in value at 470 million euros

It came as no surprise, also considering the announcements made in recent weeks and the negative “sentiment” that has long been felt among companies. Now the “certification” has arrived of a 2026 which is starting off uphill for Italian wine. According to Istat data analyzed by WineNews, referring to January 2026, Italian wine exports worldwide amount to 470.4 million euros, representing a -18.7% drop in value compared to January 2025, a decline equivalent to 108 million euros lost. Volumes also fell to 13.3 million hectoliters (-13.3% compared to January 2025), with more than 20 million hectoliters less than a year earlier. Undoubtedly “heavy” figures, but they also need to be analyzed carefully because they are deeply influenced by the “buying spree” at the beginning of 2025, when the American market was purchasing Italian wine in advance of the tariffs which would soon actually come into force following a decision by U.S. president Donald Trump. Confirmation comes precisely from the U.S. data, which reveals that in January 2026 exports stopped at 105.3 million euros, down -35.2% (and 57 million euros less) compared to January 2025. Inevitably, the downturn also affected volumes which, in the largest market for Italian wine, that of the United States, reached 21.76 million hectoliters, down -19.3% compared to January 2025.
However, the decline doesn’t concern only the American market, as the main European partners have also slowed their imports of Italian wine. Starting with Germany, the number one partner on the Old Continent, which in the first month of the current year reached 75.6 million euros, down -15.1% compared to the same period in 2025. Negative news also comes from the United Kingdom at 41.4 million euros (-18.6%), while Canada also declined to 31.1 million euros (-8.68%). Switzerland didn’t reverse the trend either, having imported Italian wine worth 23.58 million euros in January 2026 (-20.8%), while France, one of the positive “surprises” of 2025, remained stable and therefore in line with last year figures at 19 million euros (-1.5%). The Netherlands totaled 16.18 million euros (-11%), Belgium came close to 15 million euros (-17%), while Japan showed a stable trend at 11.6 million euros (-1.2%), but was overtaken by Russia at 12.7 million euros with a surprising +38.4%. Another encouraging result for Italian wine, but starting from low values, is China at 5.4 million euros (+8.6%).
A difficult start for Italian wine, but one which is not entirely unexpected, considering that the beginning of 2025 was, in some respects, “watered down” by fears of impending tariffs, which pushed the United States to increase wine purchases. Important markets such as Russia and China, with clear potential given their vast territories and large populations, are growing, which at least provides a degree of confidence. The coming months will offer a clearer picture of the performance of Italian wine in foreign markets, with the hope that external factors, from international tensions to rising costs for companies and consumers, may help to “reverse the course” and bring positive news.