Italian wine closes 2025 in negative in exports: 7.7 billion euros (-3.7% on 2024)

In 2025, as expected, Italian wine ends the year with a negative result in terms of exports compared to 2024. A deficit which affects both value and volume, reflecting a difficult year, though not a “collapse”, especially considering the comparison is with a “record” year, 2024, and in light of the challenges of 2025, which had to deal, for example, with U.S. tariffs (the world leading wine-consuming market), the devaluation of the dollar, declining consumption, and the rise of new beverages that inevitably erode wine market share, along with health-conscious trends and the impact of wars. According to Istat data, published today and analyzed by WineNews, the value of Italian wine exports worldwide in 2025 reached 7.7 billion euros (-3.7% compared to 2024) with 2.1 billion liters in volume (-1.8% compared to 2024).
Sparkling wines, in particular, account for 2.3 billion euros in value (-2.5% compared to 2024) and 553.2 million liters in volume (+0.68% compared to 2024), performing slightly better than still wines and reflecting recent market trends.
As anticipated in analyses from previous months, the United States, still the leading market for Italian wine, showed the sharpest decline: 1.75 billion euros in value (-9.1% compared to 2024) and 339.5 million liters in volume (-6.2% compared to 2024) in 2025. In Europe, Germany remains the No. 1 market for Italian wine and remains stable compared to 2024 at 1.14 billion euros (+0.5%), though volumes dropped to 474 million liters (-3.2%). The United Kingdom performed poorly, closing 2025 with 816.8 million euros of Italian wine purchases (-3.8%) and volumes of 254.7 million liters (-2.3%). Canada ranks in position No. 4, dropping to 420.7 million euros (-5.8%) in 2025, despite an increase in volume approaching 75 million liters (+1.9%). Switzerland slips below the 400 million euros threshold, reaching 393.2 million euros (-4.2%) with 64.4 million liters (-5.1%). A positive note comes from France, Italy main competitor in the wine sector which rises to 309.7 million euros (+3.4%) in 2025 and also increases in volume, now approaching 96 million liters (+6.8%).
The Italian wine sector also performed well in the Netherlands, which reached 259.6 million euros (+5.5%), outperforming Belgium at 217.2 million euros (-6.2%), and Russia which despite encouraging purchases in the second half of 2025 (even higher than in 2024) ended the year at 207.4 million euros (-16%). Sweden moved into positive territory with 187.5 million euros (+5.2%), while Eastern markets brought little satisfaction to Italian wine exporters. Japan dropped to 176.4 million euros (-4.1%), China plummeted to 66.9 million euros (-25.1%), South Korea retreated to 49.3 million euros (-2.3%), and Hong Kong declined slightly to 22.1 million euros (-0.6%).
The Mercosur star, Brazil, considered by many a new frontier for Italian wine exports, still represents a niche market, though a growing one, with 42.8 million euros in 2025 (+3.7%). India, after its agreement with Europe, is expected to grow, but for now remains a small market for Italian wine at 2.7 million euros (+5.6% compared to 2024). Australia, one of the world largest wine producers and highly influential in Asia, imported 71 million euros of Italian wine in 2025, -1.7% compared to 2024.
Basing on Istat data, Italian wine lost a significant amount in 2025 compared to 2024, around 300 million euros in value, with wine shipments decreasing by 22.6 million liters. The outlook for 2026, one-third of the way into the year, remains complex amid ongoing and emerging geopolitical tensions, uncertainties, rising energy costs, and growing cellar stocks. However, as often recalled, Italian wine, and wine in general, has survived countless deep crises, transformations, and revolutions throughout the centuries, thanks to its unique cultural identity, its deep connection to the territories where it originates, and its role in conviviality, a fundamental aspect of human life. For this reason, as confirmed by a recent WineNews survey, the sector expects a degree of stability, if not a modest recovery in 2026 maintaining a hopeful outlook for the future despite the challenges.