European DOP Wine Exports Fell in Early 2026

European exports of protected designation of origin wines fell across the main producing countries in the first four months of 2026, according to a new Nomisma Wine Monitor report released in Bologna on July 29. Italy posted a 6.2% drop in export value from the same period a year earlier, while France declined 3.4%, Germany 5.5% and Spain 8.5%, the steepest fall among the countries tracked.

The report points to a split market. Sparkling wines and still whites limited losses in a weaker trading environment, while many red wines continued to lose ground. Denis Pantini, head of Nomisma Wine Monitor, said the latest figures show a two-speed export market for DOP wines, with category differences becoming more visible as overall demand softens.

Among sparkling wines, French Crémant recorded the strongest growth, with export volumes up 19.4% in the January-to-April period. Champagne also advanced, rising 3% by volume. Italy’s Prosecco was broadly stable, slipping 0.8% in exported quantities. Asti showed a modest rebound after a difficult 2025, with volumes up 1%, helped in part by purchases from China, where sparkling wine remains a small segment but consumption is growing. Spain’s Cava moved in the opposite direction, with export volumes down by more than 9%.

Still white wines showed some of the clearest pockets of resilience. Burgundy and Loire whites each rose 6% in export volume, while Bordeaux whites increased 16%. In Italy, Sicilian and Tuscan DOP whites held up better than many other categories, with export values rising 2.8% and 3.3%. Veneto whites fell by nearly 4%, and Mosel Riesling exports dropped 11%.

Red wines remained the weakest segment in the report. Burgundy was one of the few exceptions, with export value for its DOP reds up by nearly 3%, even as volumes fell by about 3%. Bordeaux reds continued to deteriorate more sharply, with export value down 19% and volumes off 8%. The gap between those two figures suggests pressure on average pricing or product mix in one of France’s most important red wine categories.

Italian DOP reds also struggled. Tuscany and Veneto both lost more than 10% in export value compared with the first four months of 2025. Piedmont limited its decline to 2.5% in value, even as export volumes rose 9%, another sign that higher shipments did not translate into stronger returns. In Spain, Rioja reds fell 7.5% in value and 6% in volume.

Pantini said the performance of individual appellations shows why broad generalizations can be misleading. While category trends are now fairly clear, he said export results still reflect both short-term market conditions and deeper structural factors, with those structural pressures increasingly weighing on several wine regions, especially in red wines.

The Nomisma figures do not include absolute export totals in the material released with the report, but they offer one of the clearest early readings on how Europe’s leading appellation wines are performing in foreign markets this year. The data suggest that producers tied to sparkling and white wine categories are proving more resilient for now, while many red wine regions are facing a more difficult adjustment as buyers cut back or trade down in key markets abroad.