Wine market in Germany is dropping. But it remains fundamental also for Italian wine

A market of great figures for Italian wine, Germany remains a fundamental market for our wineries, which, in the first months 2024, saw the expedition of over 481.8 million of Italian wine (in a slight decline of -2.6% compared to the same year 2023) for a collection of 1.1 billion euros (+4%), data second only to that of the USA (at 1.7 billion of euros in the same period). But also the German one, dealing with the general trend of drop in wine and alcoholic drink consumption, but also with economic difficulties which slowed down no little, in the last months, one of the European leaders, is a wine market in difficulty with dropping consumption in volume and in value, in a scenario in which discounts have the higher market share around 37% of all the wine sold in Germany, followed by supermarkets (27%). So, according to NielsenIQ data for the German Wine Institute (Dwi), in the 12 months between 2023, April, 1st, and 2024, July, 31st, the purchased volumes of wines decreased by -4%, while the value of sales descended by -5% for a consumed total of 15.9 million of hectoliters of wine, and 2.6 of sparkling wine. With an overall per capita consumption (considering also out-of-home consumption) at 22.2 liters of wine for each “over 16” German, dropping compared to 22.5% registered in 2024. The most affected by the drop, explains the report, were “home” wines, the German ones, which cover 41% of the market in volume, and 45% in value with a drop in sales of -5%, and a drop in the turnover of -6%. Maybe, explains g Dwi, Monika Reule, also for a higher price of German wines (4.47 euros per liter) than foreign wines, which are cheaper overall (3.72 euros per liter). In this context, among foreign wines, Italy remains the leader, and maintained its market share at 18% unchanged, followed by Spain which made -1% (14% of market share), as much as France earned (which raised 11% of market share in Germany). Therefore, a declining market but determining for Italian wine, and to be controlled, as all, In difficult moments in order not to lose ground. As the over 800 Italian expositors will do (even if in drop numerically compared to the past years) leaving for ProWein, a very important fair for the German market, but which also looks to those of Northern Europe, and of the world, occurring in Düsseldorf, from 2025, March, 16th to 18th.