Spain’s Wine Output Fell 10.2% in the First 10 Months of the 2025/26 Campaign

Spain’s wine sector posted weaker production, lower domestic consumption and softer exports in the first 10 months of the 2025/26 campaign, according to new data from the Agriculture Ministry’s INFOVI reporting system and customs figures from the Spanish tax agency, AEAT.

Total wine and must production reached 33.1 million hectoliters through May 2026, down -10.2% from the same period a year earlier, a decline of 3.8 million hectoliters. Of that total, 28.9 million hectoliters were wine, down -7.1%, while 4.2 million hectoliters were must, down -27.3%. The figures cover the first 10 months of the marketing year and point to a smaller supply base for one of the world’s largest wine-producing countries.

The May INFOVI report showed that wine production during that month itself was almost finished, with just 6,082 hectoliters produced. By color, and based on producers making more than 1,000 hectoliters, white wines accounted for 16.2 million hectoliters, down -9.4%, while red and rosé wines totaled 12.1 million hectoliters, down -4.6%. Producers making less than 1,000 hectoliters recorded output of 610,555 hectoliters, up +12.1%.

Castilla-La Mancha remained the center of Spanish production. The region accounted for 56% of wine output in the first 10 months of the campaign and 85% of must production, underlining its weight in both volume wine and grape juice supply.

Stocks at the end of May were slightly below last year’s level. Final inventories of wine and unconcentrated must held by producers with more than 1,000 hectoliters and by storage operators stood at 36.2 million hectoliters on May 31, down -0.8% from a year earlier, or about 296,000 hectoliters less. That total was also -7.7% below the average of the last five campaigns, which stands at 39.3 million hectoliters.

Within those inventories, wine stocks fell -1.7% to 33.2 million hectoliters, a drop of about 0.6 million hectoliters. Stocks of unconcentrated must moved in the opposite direction and rose +10.6% to 3 million hectoliters, an increase of 289,511 hectoliters. Among wine stocks held by larger producers, red and rosé wines declined -6.9% to 18.4 million hectoliters, while white wines increased +5.6% to 14.85 million hectoliters.

Castilla-La Mancha also led in stored volumes, with 12.8 million hectoliters of wine and must at the end of May, equal to 37% of Spain’s total stocks. It was followed by Catalonia with 4.7 million hectoliters and La Rioja with 4.3 million.

Domestic demand also weakened. Estimated national wine consumption for the 12-month period ending in May 2026 fell -7.3% from the previous year to 9.05 million hectoliters, a reduction of 709,431 hectoliters. The ministry’s estimate is based on movements into and out of wineries and has shown a downward trend for much of the current campaign.

In May alone, entries of domestically produced wine into Spanish wineries fell -8.8% to 1,644,099 hectoliters, while exits dropped -10.7% to 2,402,666 hectoliters. The net difference between entries and exits was 758,567 hectoliters, down -14.5% from May 2025. According to the data series cited in the report, estimated consumption had remained broadly stable between about 9.5 million and 9.9 million hectoliters from late 2022 through August 2025 before weakening from September onward, with only a brief increase in February 2026.

The decline in consumption was sharper for red and rosé wines than for whites. Estimated consumption of reds and rosés dropped -13% to 5.1 million hectoliters, down by 766,851 hectoliters from a year earlier. White wine consumption edged up +1.5% to 3.9 million hectoliters, an increase of 57,420 hectoliters.

Other industrial uses for wine also fell during the campaign. A total of 1,624,278 hectoliters was directed to internal operations, distillation and vinegar production in the first 10 months of 2025/26, down -28.9%, or 661,640 hectoliters less than a year earlier. Of that amount, 930,800 hectoliters went to internal operations such as aromatized wines, vermouth and sangria production, down -7.3%. Another 455,558 hectoliters went to distillation, down -54.5%, and 237,920 hectoliters went to vinegar production, down -15%.

The sharpest contraction came in distillation volumes, which were lower by more than half compared with the same period last year. In May alone, wine sent to distillation fell -71.6% to 31,710 hectoliters, while volumes sent to vinegar production rose +26.9% to 24,209 hectoliters.

Exports added to the weaker picture for the sector. INFOVI data for the first 10 months of the campaign showed Spanish wine exports down -10.6% to 13.65 million hectoliters. AEAT customs data available through April showed that in the first nine months of the campaign exports fell both in value and volume.

Spain exported 12.8 million hectoliters of wine between August 2025 and April 2026, down -9.9%, while export revenue fell -6.6% to €2.0486 billion, a decline of €143.8 million from a year earlier. April was especially weak: export value dropped -11.7% to €215.5 million and export volume fell -24.% to about .3 million hektoliter?