Italian Wine Shipments to the U.S. Posted Their First Back-to-Back Gains Since Early 2025

Italian wine exports to the United States showed signs of improvement in the summer, with shipments rising for a second straight month in July, but the recovery has not erased the broader decline seen this year in Italy’s biggest foreign market for wine.

Data reported by Shanken News Daily on September 24, citing the Italian wine trade group Unione Italiana Vini, showed that shipments to the U.S. increased 10% in value in July from a year earlier. Export volume rose 1.3%, while the average price climbed 8%. The July gains followed another month of growth in June, marking the first time since the start of 2025 that Italian wine exports to the U.S. have posted two consecutive months of year-over-year improvement.

Even with that better summer performance, the market remains well below last year’s level. From January through July, Italian wine exports to the U.S. were still down 11% from the same period a year earlier. Over the 12 months ending in July, total exports to the American market reached €1.63 billion, or about $1.86 billion, a drop of 16% from the prior 12-month period.

Using the rounded figures provided, the earlier comparable level was about €1.94 billion, which implies a decline of roughly €310 million in annual export value.

The data point to a market that may be stabilizing after a long period of weakness, but industry officials cautioned against calling it a full turnaround. Paolo Castelletti, secretary general of UIV, said it was too early to say shipments to the U.S. had entered a lasting recovery, especially because wine consumption in the American market has not yet shown a clear rebound.

His caution reflects both the broader sales trend and the base of comparison behind the July increase. UIV noted that Italian wine shipments to the U.S. had fallen 30% in both July and August of 2025. That means the latest growth came against an unusually weak backdrop, which can make current gains appear stronger than they would under more normal conditions.

The U.S. remains a critical market for Italian producers, so even modest monthly improvements are closely watched by exporters, importers and trade groups. The July figures are notable because they show simultaneous growth in value, volume and average price. That combination can suggest healthier demand than a rise driven only by price increases, though the volume gain was limited at 1.3%.

The annual decline through July also shows how far the market still has to recover. Despite two better months, the cumulative result for the first seven months of 2026 remains firmly negative. For producers and shippers, that means recent progress has not yet offset the losses recorded earlier in the year.

UIV linked the pressure on exports to several forces that continue to weigh on the U.S. market. Among them are concern about possible new tariffs, still-high inflation and the effect of weaker consumer purchasing power on discretionary spending. Those pressures have made the American market more difficult for imported wine, including products from Italy, even as the country remains one of the world’s most important wine destinations.

Shanken News Daily said expectations for August were also favorable, but August results had not yet been reported at the time of publication. That leaves July as the latest confirmed data point and means the current change in direction is still tentative.

For now, the picture for Italian wine in the U.S. is mixed. Summer shipments improved after a prolonged downturn, and July brought a second straight month of year-over-year growth, something not seen since early 2025. But the market is still running below last year’s pace, and trade officials say the recent gains need to continue over a longer period before they can be treated as evidence of a sustained recovery.

Castelletti’s comments underline that uncertainty. He said the back-to-back gains were meaningful because they broke a long stretch without consecutive monthly growth, but he also said the lack of a meaningful recovery in American wine consumption remains a major reason for caution.