Germany's Wine Slump

Germany's wine imports fell significantly in 2024, both in value and volume, according to the 2024 Country Report published by the OIVE. The total value of wine imports declined by 8.2% year-on-year, reaching €2.477 billion, while the volume decreased by 6.4% to 1.279 billion liters. The average price per liter dropped by 6.9%, settling at €1.94.

By wine category, bottled wine—including sparkling, still, and bag-in-box (BiB)—saw a 10.1% decline in import value and a 6.3% drop in volume. This reduction brought the total bottled wine imports to €2.004 billion and 564 million liters, with an average price of €3.55 per liter, down 4.1%. Sparkling wine was particularly affected, with a decline of 11.4% in value and 16.3% in volume, totaling €447.4 million and 57.5 million liters, respectively. BiB wines experienced an 8% fall in value and a 6% decrease in volume, reaching €47.7 million and 28 million liters.

Bulk wine stood out as the only category to show a positive trend in 2024. While the imported volume declined by 6.5% to 715.3 million liters, the value increased slightly by 0.9%, totaling €473.1 million. The average price for bulk wine rose sharply by 7.9% to €0.66 per liter.

Italy maintained its position as Germany's leading wine supplier in both value and volume. Italian wine exports to Germany dropped by 8% in value to €981.7 million and by 13% in volume to 455.1 million liters. France followed with €692.5 million in value, down 8.7%, and 159.4 million liters in volume, a decrease of 0.9%. Spain held the third position in value with €383 million, down 3.1%, and was second in volume with 421.9 million liters, a marginal decrease of 0.1%.

Among other key suppliers, Australia suffered the largest value drop, down 20.8%, followed by Portugal at -18.1% and the United States at -12.5%. Only Chile (+14.5%), Hungary (+6%), and the U.S. (+1.9%) showed positive volume growth. In contrast, South Africa, Austria, and Portugal recorded notable declines in both value and volume.

In the sparkling wine segment, France continued to dominate with €290.6 million in export value to Germany, although this was a 10.1% drop from 2023. Italy followed with €118.3 million, down 8%, and Spain ranked third with €32.1 million, a sharp decline of 32.4%. France and Italy together controlled more than 90% of the sparkling wine market in Germany by value.

For bottled still wine (excluding BiB), Italy was again the top exporter to Germany with €705.2 million, down 9.5%. France and Spain followed with €344.7 million (-6.9%) and €190.5 million (-8.6%), respectively. In volume terms, Italy led with 217.4 million liters, followed by Spain with 92.1 million liters and France with 88.5 million liters. Spain was the only top-three supplier to increase its bottled wine volume in 2024, growing by 5.2%.

In the BiB segment, Italy also led in value with €17.6 million (-1.8%) and in volume with 11.6 million liters (+20.8%), accounting for 38.9% of this market segment. France exported €16 million in BiB wine to Germany (+4.5%), while Spain's exports dropped sharply to €9 million, a 29.3% decrease. Other notable movements included a 97% increase from Austria and a 69% fall from Greece.

The bulk wine segment saw Spain strengthen its leading position with a 19.7% increase in value to €151.4 million and a 1.9% rise in volume to 311.1 million liters. Italy remained the second-largest bulk wine exporter to Germany, but both its value and volume declined. France followed with a significant 16.2% drop in export value and stable volume levels.

On a broader scale, the average price per liter for imported wine in Germany fell from €1.97 in 2023 to €1.94 in 2024. France maintained the highest average price at €4.34 per liter despite a 7.8% drop. Italy's price increased by 5.6% to €2.16, while Spain's price fell slightly to €0.91, down 3%.

Overall, Germany imported wine from 62 countries in 2024. The top three suppliers—Italy, France, and Spain—accounted for nearly 83% of the market value and over 80% of the volume. These figures underscore the importance of Southern European producers in Germany's wine market. However, economic pressures and changing consumer preferences appear to be reshaping import dynamics, as shown by the sharp declines in higher-value and specialty segments like sparkling and BiB wines.