The 2025 Annual Report of Valoritalia, a leading company in wine certification with 37 operating offices throughout Italy, 219 certified designations of origin equal to 56% of the national production of quality wines for a value of over 9 billion euros, was presented. Now in its seventh edition, the study highlighted the trend of the sector in 2024, underlining the solidity of the Italian wine market even in a decidedly uncertain international context such as the current one. The last five years have in fact been compromised by a series of unexpected dynamics that continue to determine a framework of economic uncertainty between the Covid epidemic, two ongoing wars and the recent threat of US duties.
“ Despite the complex international context - underlined Giuseppe Liberatore, General Manager of Valoritalia - 2024 confirms itself as a year of consolidation, not brilliant but still positive, with 2.019 billion bottles placed on the market, slightly down compared to 2023 (0.46%) but up 1.4% compared to the average of the last five years. A particularly significant figure that shows how the Italian supply chain maintains the high volumes of 2021, achieved with the unexpected boom in consumption in the Covid era, with over 110 million more bottles than in 2019, a sign of the competitiveness of our companies even in difficult times like this ”.
The report, however, shows significant evidence among the various product categories: denominations with a prevalence of red wine have suffered a contraction of 6.8% while sparkling wines have gained a significant 5%. A trend that has been evident for some years now and which reflects the change in consumer preferences, increasingly oriented towards bubbles and ready-to-drink wines. At the same time, DOCGs, for the third consecutive year, have suffered a loss (-2.3%) as have IGTs (-6.3%) which in 2023 had achieved a powerful increase of 16.5%, while DOCs, which represent 58% of the value of certified wine in 2024 (equal to 5.35 billion), have risen by 2.7%. " The data highlights a progressive realignment between supply and demand, in which the competitiveness of denominations is no longer played out solely on historical value, but on the ability to intercept consumption dynamics that are increasingly oriented towards versatility ," commented Giuseppina Amodio, Operations Director of Valoritalia.
But the most interesting element that emerged from the report is the variability of production based on the size of the denominations: the more a denomination is of limited size, the more the volumes tend to become volatile. According to the data, of the 219 denominations certified by Valoritalia, the first 20 represent 86% of the bottled, the first 40 almost 95%, while the last 139 barely reach 1.4%. The same is found in terms of numerical volumes where only 12% of the companies exceed 50 million in turnover with the remainder barely going beyond a million.
“ A discrepancy that highlights an ambivalent structure of quality Italian viticulture - underlined Francesco Liantonio, President of Valoritalia - “ the high number of denominations represents a strength in terms of representation but also a structural limit if the organizational and dimensional aspects linked to the representation of the consortia are not considered with sufficient attention. A limited size of the denomination implicitly entails an equally limited operational capacity of the same that struggle to carry out the fundamental functions of protection, promotion and valorization. For this reason, the voluntary reform of the consortium system could be the key today to bring the fragmented local realities back to decision-making unity. A direction that is increasingly necessary especially in this period of geopolitical uncertainty, falling consumption and the constant threat of US duties which, although they have not yet materialized, are already creating numerous uncertainties .”
The report also focused on the first months of 2025, highlighting a -3.3% of bottling, a decline attributed to the uncertainty linked to US duties and the consequent caution of US operators.
The survey on the value of certifications perceived by producers and consumers, with a particular focus on Italy and Canada, by Nomisma - Wine Monitor , fits into this theme. It is an unpublished study conducted on the one hand on the Italian production world, with a sample of 147 wine companies, and on the other on over 2000 consumers, which highlights the differences and similarities between the Italian and Canadian interviewees.
According to the study, presented by Denis Pantini, head of Agrifood and Wine Monitor at Nomisma, 47% of Italian companies exporting to the United States declare that they have already implemented strategies to diversify non-EU markets, identifying Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan among the most promising countries. Italian wine exports continue to hold up thanks to the growing interest from new markets such as Canada, where Italian labels are the most consumed among foreign ones (according to 51% of those interviewed), recording an import volume of 442 million euros in this country.
The survey also compared Italian and Canadian consumers in terms of purchasing behavior and expectations related to the future of the sector. While in our country the main driver of choice is the territory and the Designation of Origin, in Canada more value is given to the winery brand. Also on the consumer side, attention was also paid to the growing trends in the next 3 years: the growth of interest in sparkling wines and low-alcohol wines was expressed by the majority of interviewees, respectively by approximately 70% and 65% of consumers in both countries. Canadians, however, compared to Italians, show a greater interest in rosés and mixology (74% of interviewees consider it a growing trend compared to 56% of Italians).
In addition, Canadians show more sensitivity to criteria such as the use of lightweight glass bottles that safeguard the environment (78% of the sample versus 65% of Italians).
" In this scenario of strong uncertainty for Italian wine, " concluded Denis Pantini , " the Nomisma Wine Monitor-Valoritalia Observatory, now in its sixth edition, has highlighted how for Italian companies and consumers the role of certifications remains crucial in the choice of purchasing a wine. Among the rising trends, those linked to green themes (and related certifications) represent the drivers of consumption with the greatest probability of future success on the market - with sustainability outclassing organic -, as well as those of low-alcohol wines. In our country, however, dealcoholized wines do not seem to gather such broad consensus ."
The main trend identified is related to green certifications, considered a priority for both Italian consumers (81%) and Canadian ones (74%). A topic that is particularly relevant also for companies in our country where 42% declare to have already implemented concrete initiatives on the topic and a good 26% are certified with a sustainability standard.
