Italian Supermarket Wine Sales Fell 3.4% by Volume Over 12 Months

Italian wine sales in supermarkets and other large retail chains fell in volume over the 12 months ending in July 2026, but the drop in value was more limited, while sparkling wines continued to grow, according to Circana data reviewed by WineNews.

Across Italy’s large-scale retail sector, total wine sales reached 414 million liters between July 2025 and July 2026, down 3.4% from the previous 12-month period. Sales value totaled 1.8 billion euros, a decline of 1.2%. The figures show that consumers bought less wine overall, but spending held up better than volumes.

Sparkling wines moved against that broader trend. Sales rose 1% in volume to 81.9 million liters and 1.2% in value to 628 million euros. Within that category, Prosecco remained the main driver. It accounted for about half of all sparkling wine sold in the channel, with 40 million liters, up 3.8%, and 306.6 million euros in sales, up 1.7%.

Italy’s traditional-method sparkling wines, including Franciacorta and Trentodoc, posted the strongest gains. That segment rose 7.6% in volume to 7.8 million liters and 6.2% in value to 145.2 million euros. The data indicate that the more premium end of the sparkling market continued to attract buyers even as the broader wine category weakened.

Packaging trends also showed a market in transition. The standard 0.75-liter bottle, still the dominant format, proved relatively resilient. Sales in that format reached 1.5 billion euros, down 0.7%, on volumes of 240 million liters, down 2.1%. By contrast, larger traditional bottles lost significant ground. Formats up to 2 liters and those above that size posted volume declines of 10.6%, with value down between 9.2% and 6.2%, depending on the size category.

Some alternative formats gained ground. Bag-in-box sales rose 1.3% in volume to 21.3 million liters and 4.7% in value to 50 million euros. Smaller formats also expanded, though from a much smaller base. Bottles below the half-bottle size increased 4.7% in volume and 5.3% in value, reaching 561,572 liters and 4.5 million euros. Formats between 37.5 centiliters and 75 centiliters rose 2.3% in volume to 854,504 liters and 3% in value to 8.7 million euros.

One of the clearest changes in the latest data was the reversal in private-label wine. After a long stretch of growth, store-brand wines declined 5.4% in volume to 61.4 million liters and 5% in value to 173.7 million euros. That was a sharper retreat than the overall market and marked a break from one of the strongest trends seen in recent years in Italian food retail.

The shift suggests that shoppers may be becoming more selective in their wine purchases, even as they reduce total quantities. In a market where consumers appear to be buying less, categories tied to stronger brand recognition or a clearer quality signal performed better than lower-priced, more generic segments. Sparkling wines, especially Prosecco and traditional-method labels, benefited from that pattern, while oversized formats and private-label products lost momentum.

The latest figures come at a time when Italy’s domestic wine market is facing pressure from weaker household consumption and changing buying habits inside the country’s major retail chains. The data do not show a collapse in spending, but they do point to a more cautious market, with demand concentrating in formats and categories that consumers appear to value more highly.