Spanish Wine Exports Fell 4.3% in 2025 After a Record Year

Spanish wine exports fell in 2025 after a record year in 2024, as weaker global alcohol consumption, trade barriers in major markets and changing consumer habits weighed on sales abroad, according to the latest report from the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organization, known as OIVE.

The industry’s export revenue declined 4.3% from a year earlier to €2.8996 billion, while export volume dropped 2.6% to 1.9076 billion liters. The figures point to a broad slowdown for one of Spain’s most important food and beverage sectors at a time when wineries are also facing pressure to rethink where and how they sell overseas.

The decline was sharper for bottled wine, which remains the segment with the highest added value. Bottled wine exports fell 6.4% in value and 7.2% in volume in 2025. Bulk wine moved in the opposite direction, rising 5.6% in value and 1.2% in volume, suggesting that lower-priced shipments held up better than packaged products.

The weaker trend has continued into 2026 in two markets closely watched by Spanish producers: the United States and China. In both countries, first-quarter sales of Spanish bottled wine fell sharply, reinforcing concerns that the downturn is not limited to one region or one type of buyer.

In the United States, Spain ranks as the fourth-largest supplier by value and the seventh by volume. From January through March, Spanish bottled wine sales there fell to €56.6 million, down 36% from the same period a year earlier. Volume dropped 26.6% to 12.8 million liters.

The U.S. market has been affected by tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump, but analysts say duties alone do not explain the decline. Eva Linares, a specialist at the supply management consulting firm ERA Group, said the American market had already been slowing because of lower consumption and greater price sensitivity among consumers.

In her view, geopolitical risk now plays a larger role in business decisions and is directly affecting the profitability of Spanish wineries. That shift, she said, points to a more structural change in how producers approach international growth rather than a short-term disruption.

The pressure has not been limited to Spain. According to the data cited by OIVE, all of the top 10 exporting countries saw their shipment volumes to the United States decline in the first quarter, while only France and Italy managed to increase sales by value.

China presents a different challenge. It is not as large a destination for Spanish wine as the United States, but it has been seen as an alternative market for companies trying to spread risk across more countries. Instead, exports there also weakened at the start of this year.

In the first quarter of 2026, Spain’s bottled wine exports to China fell 24.9% in value from a year earlier to €7.3 million. Volume declined 18.8% to 1.9 million liters. Spain is currently the sixth-largest supplier in that market.

Vicente Rubira, an economic analyst at OIVE, said those declines reflect the tariff dispute between China and the European Union as well as Beijing’s search for substitute suppliers. Among those gaining ground is South Africa, whose wine exports to China rose by more than 70% in value and 60% in volume, although from a small base of about 0.6 million liters sold.

For Spanish wineries, the combined weakness in the United States and China underscores how exposed exporters can be when demand softens at the same time that trade policy becomes less predictable. Industry specialists say that reality is pushing producers to focus less on selling more volume at any cost and more on identifying which countries, channels and categories offer better margins.

OIVE has begun new efforts to promote Spanish wines abroad, including in China, as part of an attempt to reverse what it describes as a temporary decline. But consultants working with wineries say promotion alone will not be enough if producers do not adapt their portfolios and cost structures.

Linares said many wineries are now concentrating on diversifying risk rather than simply expanding exports. That includes reviewing where they sell, what kind of wine they offer and how profitable each market really is after logistics costs, tariffs and distributor margins are taken into account.

She also pointed to product innovation as one of the main tools available to producers trying to reconnect with shifting consumer preferences. Lower-alcohol and alcohol-free wines are among the categories drawing attention as wineries look for ways to respond to younger consumers and broader moderation trends that have affected wine demand in several countries.

At the same time, she said wineries need to work on their cost structures and improve operating efficiency so they can better absorb higher expenses linked to tariffs and other trade frictions. For many producers, especially smaller ones with limited bargaining power abroad, those adjustments may determine whether export markets remain viable over the next few years.

The latest figures show that Spain’s wine sector is entering a more difficult phase after years in which international sales helped support growth. With bottled wine under heavier pressure than bulk shipments and key destinations losing momentum at once, exporters are being forced to balance commercial ambition with caution as they reassess their global strategy.