Global bulk wine markets stay weak

Global bulk wine markets remained sluggish through March and into early April as rising fuel prices, volatile weather and weaker consumer confidence added to a slowdown that has already been weighing on trade since the start of the year, according to Ciatti’s April 2026 Global Market Report.

The report said fuel costs have risen by roughly 30% or more in many countries after the conflict in the Middle East pushed energy markets higher. That increase has come at a difficult moment for wineries and bulk wine buyers, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, where harvests were underway and transport costs were already a concern. In at least one case, the report said, the spike directly affected picking operations.

Ciatti said the higher fuel bill is feeding into broader consumer caution. The report pointed to lingering pressure from the inflation surge of 2021 to 2023 and said shoppers are still spending less than they did before that period. It argued that this time consumers appear pessimistic not only about the near term but also about the longer outlook, which could keep demand soft across wine categories.

That weakness is landing at a time when many producers are trying to adjust to lower sales and a market that has not yet found a stable floor. The report described the industry as being in a painful rightsizing phase, with sellers and buyers still searching for signs that declines in volume and value may be leveling off.

Weather has added another layer of uncertainty in nearly every major producing region covered in the report. Heavy rain hit parts of two countries during harvest in March. Spain and southern France had an unusually wet winter and early spring, with Languedoc receiving more than 100% of its typical annual rainfall in just the first quarter of the year. In California, early spring temperatures have been unusually warm, and several veteran growers told Ciatti they had never seen vine growth so advanced at this point in the season.

“Advanced” has become a common word among growers this year, including in several Southern Hemisphere regions where harvest timing has moved ahead of normal patterns. The report suggested that these conditions could affect both yields and fruit composition, depending on how weather develops over the coming weeks.

The report also highlighted changes in the trade show calendar as a sign of shifting industry priorities. ProWein 2026 in Düsseldorf drew 31,000 visitors, down 25% from 42,000 in 2025 and below 47,000 in 2024. By comparison, Wine Paris 2026 attracted 63,500 attendees and 3,400 exhibitors, about twice ProWein’s exhibitor count. Ciatti said the outbreak of war between Iran and Israel two weeks before ProWein likely hurt attendance further, but it also said Wine Paris is increasingly becoming Europe’s leading wine fair.

Ciatti’s broker team said it found ProWein useful for meetings and scheduling efficiency because it is less crowded than Paris. Still, the company noted that holding both fairs close together on the calendar has made it difficult for many visitors from outside Europe to attend both events. With next year’s editions separated by only three weeks, Ciatti said Paris is likely to draw even more attendees and exhibitors away from Düsseldorf.

The report said its full market coverage includes updates on leading bulk wine markets, Southern Hemisphere harvests and spring conditions across Northern Hemisphere vineyards.