After years of consistent growth, Italian wine exports are beginning to show signs of fatigue in 2025.
Data from ISTAT, analyzed by WineNews, reveals that overall exports dropped by 0.86% in value during the first four months of the year compared to 2024. While this might raise concerns, a "glass half full" perspective emerges when zooming in on one of Italy’s most iconic wine categories: Prosecco.
Despite the overall slowdown of Italian sparkling wine exports—down by 1.1% in value to EUR 676.2 million, and a 1.5% drop in volume to 158.2 million liters—Prosecco PDO (including Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, Prosecco DOC, and Asolo DOCG) remains firmly in positive territory. Between January and April 2025, Prosecco exports reached EUR 527 million, marking a 1.5% increase over the same period in 2024, with volume up by 3.4%. That means Prosecco now represents a massive 76% of Italy’s sparkling wine exports—a clear indication of its pivotal role in the country’s wine trade.
However, this growth is showing early signs of deceleration. In the first quarter of 2025, Prosecco had registered a +4.9% increase in value compared to Q1 2024, meaning that April figures slightly tempered that growth trend.
Markets in Focus
The United States remains the leading driver of growth for Italian sparkling wines. Exports to the U.S. reached EUR 191.6 million, up 12.5% year-on-year, outperforming the overall growth of Italian wine exports to the U.S. (+6.6%). Impressively, 91.2% of Italian sparkling wine shipped to the U.S. is Prosecco, demonstrating American consumers’ clear preference.
Meanwhile, Great Britain, traditionally a strong market for Prosecco, saw a 6.2% decline, totaling EUR 102.5 million. France—despite being the spiritual home of Champagne—surprisingly posted a strong performance, with imports of Italian sparkling wine up 15.6% to EUR 43.7 million. Smaller yet positive trends were noted in Belgium and Switzerland.
On the flip side, Germany showed negative signs, while Russia reported a dramatic 47% decline, down to EUR 25.7 million, likely due to geopolitical and trade constraints. Interestingly, China, despite accounting for only EUR 1.9 million, showed noteworthy growth of 7.4%, suggesting potential for expansion in Asia.
The Tariff Threat
While Prosecco’s resilience is encouraging, the broader outlook for Italian sparkling wine could be shaken by looming U.S. tariffs. With the threat of a 30% tariff on all EU products starting August 1st—as proposed by former President Trump—there’s rising uncertainty. A final decision is pending as negotiations between Washington and Brussels continue. The result of these discussions will likely have a decisive impact on Italy’s wine export performance in the second half of 2025, particularly for sparkling wines which are sensitive to price shifts in competitive global markets.
Source: WineNews