U.S. Wine Imports Fell 38.8% in the First Quarter of 2026

Global wine trade fell in the first quarter of 2026, with imports dropping 7.5% in value and 7.9% in volume compared with the same period a year earlier, according to customs data from multiple countries analyzed by Spain’s Interprofessional Wine Organization, known as OIVE. Total trade reached 7.412 billion euros and 2.0928 billion liters, while the average price edged up 0.5% to 3.57 euros a liter.

Compared with the first quarter of 2025, that meant a decline of 600.1 million euros and 180.7 million liters worldwide. The figures point to weaker demand across much of the market, but they also show that the downturn was heavily shaped by one country: the United States.

The U.S. remained the world’s largest wine importer by value in the first three months of 2026, even as its purchases fell sharply to 1.0688 billion euros, down 38.8% from a year earlier. That was a reduction of 677 million euros, larger than the total global decline in value over the quarter. In volume, the U.S. ranked second, with imports of 260.9 million liters, down 20.5%.

Germany kept its position as the largest wine importer by volume, with 289.5 million liters, down 7.9%. In value terms, Germany ranked third behind the United States and Britain.

OIVE linked the steep U.S. decline to an unusual comparison base rather than only to current consumption trends. Early in 2025, American buyers increased purchases of French, Italian and Spanish wines ahead of expected tariffs. Those duties were later set at 15% in August 2025 and remain in place. As a result, first-quarter 2026 imports are being measured against an unusually strong period of stock-building.

That helps explain why the global picture looks less uniform when the U.S. is removed from the calculation. Based on the OIVE figures, wine imports in the rest of the world rose slightly in value even as they continued to fall in volume. Outside the U.S., import value would have increased by about 1.2%, while volume would still have declined by roughly 5.8%. That suggests buyers in many markets purchased less wine overall but shifted toward products with a higher average value.

By category, every major segment posted declines in both value and volume during the quarter. Bottled wine remained by far the largest category traded worldwide, at 1.0671 billion liters and 4.9446 billion euros, but it also accounted for the biggest losses in absolute terms. Bottled wine imports fell by 38.8 million liters and 457.9 million euros from a year earlier, equivalent to declines of 3.5% in volume and 8.5% in value.

Bulk wine recorded the sharpest contraction in physical terms after bottled wine’s losses in revenue terms. Global bulk wine trade dropped to 720.4 million liters and 581.2 million euros, down 15.5% in volume and 15.3% in value. That represented a loss of 132.3 million liters and 104.8 million euros from the first quarter of 2025.

Sparkling wine proved more resilient than other categories. Imports slipped 1.4% in value to 1.7117 billion euros and 0.9% in volume to 217.2 million liters, a decrease of about 24.7 million euros and nearly 2 million liters year over year.

Bag-in-box wines also declined, though less sharply than bulk wine, falling 5.3% in value to 152.8 million euros and 4.2% in volume to nearly 78 million liters.

Among the leading import markets tracked by OIVE, only Denmark and Russia increased purchases in both value and volume during the quarter. Denmark’s imports rose 9.4% in value and 5.3% in volume. Russia posted much stronger gains, up 29.5% in value and 43.4% in volume. Japan was another exception on volume alone, with imports rising 6.4%, though its spending still declined.

Britain, the world’s second-largest wine importer by value and third by volume, also posted lower figures. Imports fell to 850.1 million euros, down 5.9%, while volumes dropped to 244.7 million liters, down 4.1%. That was equal to a reduction of 53 million euros and 10.6 million liters from a year earlier.

The broader pattern across major markets was negative. France reduced import volumes sharply, while China also posted double-digit declines in both value and volume terms. Canada registered another notable drop in spending on imported wine.

The data also show that different product types drove different parts of the downturn. Bulk wine accounted for most of the global loss in volume, while bottled wine was responsible for most of the decline in value. Sparkling wine held up better than other segments, suggesting that consumers and buyers were more willing to maintain spending on that category even as overall trade weakened.

For producers and exporters, especially those focused on bottled wines, the first-quarter figures point to pressure not only from lower volumes but also from weaker revenue performance in key destinations led by the United States. At the same time, markets such as Denmark and Russia offered rare signs of growth during a quarter marked otherwise by contraction across much of global wine trade.

The OIVE analysis was based on customs data from different countries for the first quarter of 2026. While it presents a broad picture of international flows, it also underlines how strongly one market can shape global results when trade patterns are distorted by tariff policy and advance buying from an earlier period.