Italian wine exports to the United States are under pressure as the combined effects of tariffs and a weaker dollar weigh on sales and margins across the supply chain.
After a period of accelerated shipments ahead of the introduction of new U.S. tariffs, the sector is now facing the full impact of trade measures and currency depreciation. From the second half of 2025 onwards, both volumes and revenues have declined. Overall export value fell by nearly 12%, bringing the market to around €5.5 billion.
The weakening of the dollar and the imposition of tariffs have exposed structural fragilities in a market already affected by declining wine consumption over the past several years. The post-Covid surge in demand had temporarily masked these underlying trends.
According to the latest data from Wine Monitor, the wine market observatory run by the Italian economic research institute Nomisma, part of the damage has been contained by adjustments along the supply chain. “Only the absorption of part of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration at the expense of producers’ and importers’ margins has prevented a collapse in volumes,” the observatory notes.
PREMIUM WINES UNDER PRESSURE
The impact is particularly visible in the premium segment. Italian PDO wines, among the country’s most prestigious labels, recorded shipments to the United States of 2.37 million hectolitres through November 2025, with a value of €1.3 billion. Compared with the same period in the previous year, this represents a 2.6% decline in volume and a 6.2% drop in value.
The so-called “Prosecco system” remains comparatively resilient. Overseas sales of Prosecco posted a 1.3% increase in volume, despite a modest 2% decline in value. By contrast, the segment of PDO red wines—particularly those from Tuscany, Piedmont, and Veneto—has been hit harder, with value losses exceeding 7%.
SUPPLY CHAIN TURBULENCE
According to Denis Pantini, head of Wine Monitor at Nomisma, the tariffs have created significant disruption throughout the industry. “In the United States, the introduction of tariffs on wine imports has generated strong turbulence across the entire supply chain,” Pantini said. “After a phase of precautionary stockpiling to avoid the new tariffs, shipments declined, also due to a contracting domestic market that was unable to absorb the surplus supply.” He added that efforts to keep retail prices competitive have forced producers to cut average prices across most categories. “The need to mitigate the fiscal burden to maintain competitive consumer prices has pushed producers to reduce average prices across virtually all categories, as evidenced by the decline in the overall value of exports.”
This trend is prompting Italian wineries to rethink their international strategies. “Italian producers are now being forced both to strengthen their positioning in other countries and to seek new destinations, which fortunately do not appear to be lacking—from Eastern European markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic to Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam and Thailand,” Pantini added.
SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE MARKETS
Finding alternative outlets has therefore become urgent to offset losses in the United States. However, not all global markets are currently expanding. China, for example, recorded a decline in total wine imports, with volumes slightly above 2 million hectolitres and a total value of roughly €1.3 billion, with significant year-on-year drops in both quantity and value. The contraction affects almost all product categories, with sparkling wines representing the only exception.
Other mature markets—including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Japan—have also shown varying degrees of contraction, while South Korea stands out as a counter-trend market with stronger demand.
More encouraging signals are coming from Brazil, where wine imports in 2025 grew both in volume (+3.5%) and value (+1.9%) compared with 2024. The increase has been driven in particular by bottled still and semi-sparkling wines, with white wines from Veneto leading growth in terms of volume.
According to Wine Monitor data, exports of Italian PDO wines to Brazil—the largest wine market in South America—are showing promising momentum that could strengthen further, also thanks to the EU–Mercosur trade agreement.
L’articolo Italian Wine Exports to the U.S. Drop as Tariffs and Weak Dollar Weigh on Trade proviene da Italianfood.net.