After a record-breaking 2024, the European wine market entered 2025 showing clear signs of fatigue.
What initially appeared to be a temporary slowdown has revealed itself as a broader structural correction, shaped by geopolitical tensions, climate pressure, trade barriers, and a steady decline in wine consumption across key markets. According to a recent WineNews analysis, the sector is also grappling with a generational transition that is failing to replace older consumers with younger wine drinkers at the same pace.
Italy offers a telling snapshot of this European-wide phenomenon. Based on the latest ISTAT data for October 2025, Italian wine exports fell by 2.7% in value compared to the same period in 2024. While significant, this contraction is not an isolated case but part of a wider European trend that requires careful contextualization.
White Wines Show Greater Market Resilience
Data compiled by S&P Global and analyzed by Del Rey AWM highlight a crucial divergence within the market. In the 12 months from September 2024 to September 2025, total EU exports of still bottled wine declined to €15.75 billion, representing a 1.7% decrease. Volumes fell even more sharply, down 3.2% to 32 million hectolitres.
Within this contraction, white wines demonstrated notable resilience. They accounted for approximately €5.4 billion in export value — around one-third of the total — and nearly 43% of export volumes, equivalent to 13.7 million hectolitres. Red and rosé wines together generated €10.3 billion, or two-thirds of export value, with volumes reaching 18.3 million hectolitres.
The difference lies in pricing dynamics. White wines were exported at an average price of €3.94 per litre, marking a 2.7% increase year-on-year. This rise effectively offset a corresponding 2.7% decline in volumes, allowing white wines to maintain their export value. In contrast, red and rosé wines achieved a higher average price of €5.65 per litre, but with only a 1.1% increase — insufficient to compensate for a 3.5% drop in volumes. As a result, their export value declined by 2.5%.
A Shift in Consumer Preferences
This growing preference for white wines reflects broader changes in consumer behaviour. Drinkability, freshness, and lower perceived heaviness are increasingly prioritised, influencing purchasing decisions across mature and emerging markets alike. While price adjustments have softened the impact of declining volumes, they have not been enough to counteract the overall contraction in red and rosé wine exports.
A Long-Term Structural Trend
The divergence becomes even clearer when examining long-term data. From 2011 to September 2025, EU exports of red and rosé wines fell by 19% in volume, losing 4.3 million hectolitres. Over the same period, white wine exports grew by 7.5%, adding approximately one million hectolitres.
In value terms, the contrast is even starker. Red and rosé wine exports increased by 36.7%, rising from €7.6 billion to €10.3 billion. Meanwhile, white wine exports surged by 167.7%, climbing from €3.1 billion to €5.4 billion — a growth rate 4.5 times higher than that of red and rosé wines.
Since the end of 2022, red and rosé wine exports have declined by 10% in value, while white wines have continued to grow, albeit modestly, by 2.4%. Volume reductions have affected both categories, but white wines have fallen by 6.3%, compared to a sharper 14% contraction for red and rosé wines.
Conclusion
Despite the overall slowdown of the European wine market in 2025, white wines continue to outperform red and rosé wines across both short-term and long-term metrics. Their resilience lies not in volume growth, but in stronger value performance, pricing power, and alignment with evolving consumer preferences. As the market continues to adjust, white wines appear better positioned to navigate the structural challenges reshaping the global wine trade.
Source: WineNews