Italian Wine Producers Turn to Emerging Markets

Italian wine producers are looking beyond their traditional export markets as sales in the United States, Germany and Britain remain under pressure from geopolitical uncertainty, weaker consumption in many countries and tariffs that have slowed shipments to the U.S.

A new report from Wine Monitor, the wine market observatory run by Nomisma, says the shift is no longer optional. The study focuses on Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and identifies 13 emerging markets that have posted strong growth in wine imports over the past five years: Angola, Bulgaria, Colombia, Ivory Coast, India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Thailand.

Together, those markets increased their combined wine imports by an average of 7.1% a year from 2019 to 2025. In 2025, their total import value reached 1.7 billion euros, up 5.1% from 2024. Even so, they still account for only about 5% of global wine imports by value. Nomisma said their importance lies in their economic profile: these are developing countries with rising incomes, growing cities and expanding middle classes that are gradually changing drinking habits and opening more to imported wine.

Poland, the Czech Republic and Mexico stand out as the most attractive of the group, each already representing about 1% of world wine imports. For Italian wine specifically, exports to the 13 markets rose steadily from 2019 to reach 405.6 million euros in 2025. That was up 4.3% from 2024 and reflected a compound annual growth rate of 11.4% since 2019, well above the pace of overall wine imports in those countries.

The report suggests that Italian wines are gaining ground in these markets as demand broadens. In some places, Italian restaurants and higher-end operators have helped build awareness and support sales. Across the 13 countries, Poland leads Italian wine imports by both value and volume, followed by the Czech Republic, Mexico and Romania. All of the markets except Angola showed growth over the period.

The largest category exported by Italy to these countries is bottled still and sparkling wine, which makes up 58% of total export value. That share has slipped from 61% in 2019 as sparkling wines gained ground and rose from 32% to 37% over the same period.

By country and category, Thailand posted the strongest growth over five years for bottled still and sparkling wines, followed by Angola and Romania. For sparkling wines, Morocco led growth ahead of Colombia and Thailand. Among denomination wines, Prosecco performed best in Eastern Europe. Asti found its main destinations in Poland, Mexico and Peru; Romania showed the strongest value growth for Asti over the five-year period.

For Veneto white DOP wines, Eastern Europe again offered the best prospects, with Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria driving exports. For Tuscan red DOP wines, Thailand emerged as a key market and ranked third overall among destinations for that category after nearly doubling its purchases between 2019 and 2025. Piedmont red DOP wines found their main outlets in the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico; the Czech market now imports more than 3 million euros of those wines a year. Sicilian white DOP wines also showed strong growth in Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, while Sicilian red DOP wines saw solid gains in Poland, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Thailand.

Denis Pantini, head of Wine Monitor at Nomisma, said declining wine consumption in established markets means Italian producers need new outlets if they want to offset falling exports in countries that have long been central to their business. He said companies must identify markets with the greatest growth potential, track changes in consumer preferences and build long-term strategies rather than rely on familiar destinations.

Pantini added that systematic monitoring of emerging markets has become more important because global trade is being shaped by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and climate pressures as well as changing consumer behavior. He said Wine Monitor can help producers understand where demand is moving next and where Italian wine may still have room to grow.