According to Valoritalia's seventh Annual Report , 2024 was a positive but not brilliant year, with over 2 billion bottles placed on the market (-0.46% compared to 2023, but 1.4% on the five-year average). Sparkling wines drive growth with 5%, while red wines lose ground (-6.8%), confirming a change in preferences towards lighter and ready-to-drink wines. In terms of denominations, DOCs are growing (2.7%), while DOCGs (-2.3%) and IGTs (-6.3%) are decreasing.
Exports remain vital , but they are facing the threat of US duties of 10%, which would affect 24% of exports to the United States, for a value of 1.94 billion euros. According to Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv), the estimated damage to turnover would be between 10 and 12%, because 90% of companies believe that American consumers would not absorb the extra cost. A good 77% of companies expect medium-high or very high impacts. Precisely for this reason, many companies have already started diversification strategies on non-EU markets, focusing in particular on Canada (53%), the United Kingdom (51%) and Japan (47%).
Canada emerges as a promising outlet, with imports of Italian wine worth 442 million euros and a share of preference among consumers equal to 51%, ahead of other producing countries.
On the domestic front, the situation of out-of-home consumption continues to be worrying. In the first four months of 2025, wine in Italian establishments lost 12% of consumption compared to the previous year, reaching 116.8 million, while sparkling wines recorded an even more marked decline (-13%). Spirits also fell by 14%, signaling a general slowdown in out-of-home spending, only partially offset by the recovery in April and May.
The sector continues to deal with inventory management , aided by the recovery in production (14.5% compared to 2023, with 43.9 million hectoliters), fueling fears of overproduction. Agea has found that 75% of the Italian vineyard is made up of 80 native vines, over a surface area of 728,000 hectares, confirming the great viticultural biodiversity of the country.
Direct sales in the cellar are confirmed as a priority for 84% of wine companies, together with the HoReCa channel (87%), much more relevant than GDO (39%) and online (45%). The connection between wine and tourism therefore remains a strategic factor.
Meanwhile, Uiv calls for the need to adapt the Consolidated Wine Act to new market dynamics by 2026, to address drops in consumption, stocks and geopolitical risks. Among the proposals: reduction of yields, revision of specifications and a reorganization of Italian denominations, currently 529 but highly unbalanced, given that the first 20 cover 80% of production.
Mediobanca also highlighted the need to rethink the production model, to avoid excessively abundant harvests in a context of weak demand, underlining how the Italian wine sector, despite good international competitiveness, remains less profitable than other food sectors.
Looking ahead, the drivers of success in the coming years will be sparkling wines, low-alcohol wines and certified green products, with 81% of Italian consumers and 74% of Canadian consumers already indicating them as a priority in their purchasing choices.
In summary, the week of June 30 – July 4, 2025 photographs a vital and competitive sector, but challenged by structural, geopolitical and consumer challenges that require strategic interventions and reforms to continue to be a world leader.
