Italian Wine Exports Rise in Emerging Markets

Italian wine exports to 13 emerging markets topped 400 million euros in 2025, rising 4.3% from the previous year, according to a new Wine Monitor report from Nomisma released Tuesday. The findings point to a shift by Italian producers toward countries beyond their traditional core markets as wars, weaker consumption and tariffs in the United States weigh on trade, even as the U.S. remains Italy’s largest export destination.

The report examined Angola, Bulgaria, Colombia, Ivory Coast, India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Mexico, Peru, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Thailand. Over the past five years, imports of wine into those markets have grown at an average annual rate of 7.1%, reaching a combined value of 1.7 billion euros in 2025, up 5.1% from 2024 and equal to about 5% of global wine imports.

Denis Pantini, who heads Wine Monitor at Nomisma, said Italian producers need to find new outlets to offset weaker exports and should move beyond assumptions that can shape international expansion strategies. He said companies need to identify markets with the strongest growth potential, track changes in consumer preferences and demand structure, and build long-term strategies.

Among the countries studied, Poland led both in import value and volume, followed by the Czech Republic, Mexico and Romania. The report said the biggest export category was still bottled still and sparkling wines, which accounted for 58% of the total value of Italian wine exports to these markets. That share has fallen by 3% since 2019 as sparkling wines gained ground, rising from 32% to 37% over the same period.

The report also pointed to the role of Italian restaurants and mid- to high-end operators in supporting demand in some of these countries.