Italian wine export, first quarter: Veneto (-9.7%), Piedmont (+0.5%), Tuscany (-8.3%) on the podium

Italian wine exports in the first quarter of 2026 reached 1.7 billion euros and remain still far from 2025 levels compared to the same period (-8.2%), as analyzed by WineNews basing on Istat data, although showing a clear recovery compared to the first two months of the current year, which at least leaves room for optimism. The results from individual regions have been obviously weighing on the still provisional balance, where performance doesn’t appear homogeneous. The “locomotive” of Italian wine exports, again based on Istat data processed by WineNews, remains Veneto, the homeland of Prosecco, Valpolicella wines, Soave, and Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, among others, with 621.4 million euros, down 9.7% compared to the first quarter of 2025. It is followed by Piedmont (which, compared to final 2025 data, has overtaken Tuscany, ed), one of the most positive performers, with the land of Barolo and Barbaresco, Barbera d’Asti, Alta Langa, Gavi, and Asti, among others, managing to improve on the first quarter of 2025 (+0.5%) to 255.2 million euros. Tuscany, home to Chianti Classico and Bolgheri, IGT Toscana and Chianti, Maremma and Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Vernaccia di San Gimignano, completes the podium with 251.6 million euros (-8.3%). Veneto, Piedmont, and Tuscany together reach 1.1 billion euros in export value and account for 66% (a stable figure, ed) of national wine shipments to markets worldwide.
Position No. 4 goes to Trentino-Alto Adige/South Tyrol, known for its great white wines and Trentodoc, among others, at 124.5 million euros (-18.2%), followed by Emilia-Romagna, home to Lambrusco and Sangiovese di Romagna, among others, at 95.7 million euros (+2.3%), a region showing strong performance, and Lombardy, home to Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese, and other excellences, at 72.1 million euros (-1.3%).
Puglia also performs well, with Primitivo among others, at 61.7 million euros (+4.9%), as well as Friuli-Venezia Giulia at 56.1 million euros (+2.8%), a region renowned for its great white wines from Collio and its Friulano (formerly known as “fù Tocai”), just to name a few. More significant declines are seen in the Abruzzi (-10.9%) at 54.5 million euros, a region whose hills produce wines such as Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano, and Cerasuolo. Closing the stable “top 10”, there is Sicily at 37.9 million euros (+0.1%), one of the jewels of Italian wine, with its many iconic terroirs, from the “diamond” Etna to Vittoria, from Menfi to Noto, and from Marsala to Pantelleria.