Italian wine exports: Veneto holds and is still leader in 2023, ahead of Piedmont and Tuscany

Italian wine exports closed 2023 at a slight decline compared to 2022 (-0.8%), equal to 7.77 billion euros in value. This figure translates into a scenario of resistance, as well as of health, obviously, in spite of the ongoing challenges and questions about the future. Looking at the results of the individual Regions, according to ISTAT data, analyzed by WineNews, the three “big” Regions, and that is, Veneto, Piedmont and Tuscany, which together add up to 67% of Italian wine exports, are continuing to lose but at different “speeds”. Veneto, at 2.8 billion euros, is still close to its 2022 numbers (-0.2%), while in Piedmont the decline is more substantial (-5.6%) with exports worth 1.21 billion of euros, and Tuscany (-4%) is just under 1.19 billion euros.
Behind the three main wine leaders, however, there are Regions that have compensated for the decline. Starting from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol that has continued to grow, reaching 631.4 million euros (+3.7%), exceeding 8% of National exports. Emilia-Romagna also did very well (+3%) at 465.8 million euros, Lombardy (+3.1%) at 327.9 million, and Abruzzo (+6.2%) and 232.4 million euros. Apulia follows, at number 8 (+4.8%) and 214.7 million euros, then Friuli-Venezia Giulia (+8.4%) at 214.3 million. Sicily closes the top ten at 163.5 million euros, down 2.3% while Campania collapsed (-21.5%) to 49.7 million and Calabria (-25.7%) slipped below 6 million euros in the South, including the Islands (-7.4%, Sardinia, just under 24 million euros), completing the “in the red” list. However, a positive note comes from Liguria, which even though it represents a minimal portion of Italian wine exports, registered the best performance (+55.8% equal to 23.9 million euros in value), beating Molise (+17.3%, 7.8 million euros). Among the top ten regions only the first three (Veneto, Piedmont and Tuscany) and number 10, Sicily, have registered drops, demonstrating that Italian wine is dynamic and boasts many areas growing and getting positive responses from the market.