The Spanish wine industry has entered 2025 on a challenging note, marked by a contraction in both volume and value of exports.
According to the latest figures published by Spain’s State Tax Administration Agency and analyzed by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Association (OIVE), wine exports for the first four months of the year totaled 929.3 million liters, reflecting a 5.6% decline compared to the same period in 2024. The value of these exports fell 3.8%, amounting to €1.119 billion, or €44.2 million less than the previous year.
This downward shift disrupts the upward trends witnessed in the post-pandemic years and highlights structural and regional tensions within Spain’s wine sector. A deeper analysis reveals significant contrasts between regions, business models, and product categories—underscoring a sector in transition.
Bulk Wine as the Central Driver of Decline
The decline is primarily attributed to the weak performance of bulk wine, particularly from Castilla-La Mancha, the country's largest wine-exporting region. Bulk wine represents a major share of Spain’s total wine volume, and its slump dragged down national export figures significantly. Castilla-La Mancha alone saw its exports decrease by 30.6 million liters and €10.8 million, accounting for more than half of the national contraction.
On the other hand, bottled wines with designation of origin (DO)—usually higher in value—have shown more resilience, although even these products registered drops in core regions like Catalonia and La Rioja. Catalonia, in particular, experienced a 10.4% decline in value and a 19.5% drop in volume, reflecting weakening demand for premium Spanish wines in global markets.
Regional Polarization: Growth Engines vs. Struggling Giants
A stark regional divide is evident in the data. While heavyweights such as Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, and La Rioja are grappling with simultaneous declines in value and volume, Valencia emerges as the bright spot. With growth of 3.1% in value and 5.9% in volume, the Valencian Community has become a key growth engine, powered by a model focused on competitive pricing and high-volume output.
Other success stories include Andalusia (+8.1% value, +6.5% volume) and Navarre, while smaller provinces like Asturias and the Balearic Islands are registering notable growth percentages despite their limited absolute volumes.
Diverging Business Models within Regions
The data underscores the diversity of wine business models even within the same autonomous communities. For instance, Toledo, part of Castilla-La Mancha, saw export growth (+8.6% in volume, +12.2% in value), even as neighboring provinces like Ciudad Real and Albacete recorded steep declines. Similarly, in the Basque Country, the province of Guipúzcoa achieved a remarkable 47.4% increase in export value, offsetting losses in Álava and Vizcaya.
This fragmentation highlights the need for granular regional strategies and reveals that success or failure is increasingly determined by product mix, pricing strategies, and access to targeted export markets.
Product Category Insights: Vinegar, Must, and Aromatized Wines
Not all wine-related products performed poorly. While non-aromatized wine, the main export category, dropped 4.8% in volume and 4.2% in value, vinegar exports rose by 5.8% in volume and a notable 14.5% in value, offering a partial buffer to the sector’s total revenue. In contrast, aromatized wines and musts suffered the sharpest falls, with aromatized wine down 17.5% in volume and 11% in value.
The average export price rose marginally from €1.18 to €1.20 per liter, but this shift does not suggest sectoral strengthening. Instead, it reflects a statistical effect from the declining share of low-cost bulk wine, rather than genuine value-added growth.
Long-Term Context and Strategic Profiles
Comparing the 2025 performance to previous years reveals worrying signs: this is the lowest volume for the January–April period since 2020, and the export value is below the 2023 peak of €1.164 billion. This suggests the current contraction is not cyclical, but rather part of a structural realignment.
The OIVE report identifies four strategic regional profiles:
- Growth in value and volume – Valencia, Andalusia: Showing strong adaptability with competitive positioning.
- Value growth despite volume decline – Castile and León, Basque Country: Prioritizing premiumization over volume.
- Volume growth at the cost of value – Murcia: Facing squeezed margins.
- Declines in both volume and value – Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, La Rioja, Extremadura, Aragon, Madrid: Reflecting broader structural issues.
Strengths, Weaknesses, and the Road Ahead
Spain’s wine export sector still holds competitive advantages: strong regional hubs producing high-value wines, export diversification into related categories like vinegar, and dynamic pricing strategies in select regions.
Yet vulnerabilities persist, including overdependence on bulk wine, value erosion in traditional strongholds, and concentration risk tied to a few key provinces. The situation requires exporters and policymakers alike to rethink market positioning, focus on product differentiation, and pursue balanced growth across regions.
The first four months of 2025 may prove to be a turning point for the Spanish wine industry. As old certainties fade, adaptability, specialization, and regional strategy will shape the sector’s trajectory in the face of evolving global demand and pricing pressures.
Source: Vinetur