Wine in full retreat: in nine months, modern retail sales reached 2,15 billion, -1,6%

The hot summer is not boosting wine sales in modern retail, not even white wines. Sparkling wines, on the other hand, continue to perform well, particularly thanks to sparkling wines made using the traditional method.

In the first 380 months of 2026, total sales, according to Circana, amounted to 2,15 billion euros, 17,4%. Breaking down the overall figure, wine totalled 1,64 billion, -2,9%, and -4,1% by volume. The average price, however, increased by 1,3% to 3,76 euros per litre.
In contrast, sparkling wines recorded sales of 490,6 million, +2,5%, and volumes +3,3%. The average price is slightly lower: -0,6% to 6,79 euros per litre. Within the sparkling wine category, traditional-method sparkling wine grew by 8,6% to 83 million, while dry Charmat wines stood at 1,8% million.
Comparing the wine and sparkling-wine figures has produced, since 2020 to date, a leap for sparkling wines: their share has jumped from the earlier figure to 22,8%.

Caporetto for the DOCs

As regards types and designations, in the first 9 months of this year, red wines gave up 6,1% by volume, white wines 2,7% and Rosé wines 2,6%. In terms of geographical origin, wine is losing ground across the board: DOC and DOCG -3,9%, Igt -4,9% and other wines -3,7%.

According to Unione italiana vini, wine is caught between falling consumer prices and rising production costs. In September, the Istat consumer price index for wine recorded -2,3% year-on-year and -0,3% compared with the previous month, while sales by volume did not grow. This is sharply at odds with general inflation: +4,2% in September year-on-year.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.