Italian wine exports to the U.S. jumped 17% in the third quarter

Italian wine exports to the United States rose sharply in the third quarter of 2026, but industry data suggests the improvement has not yet reached the consumer level.

According to provisional European Union figures processed by the Observatory of Unione Italiana Vini, or UIV, shipments to the U.S. increased 17% by value and 6.6% by volume from July through September compared with the same period a year earlier. The rebound helped lift Italian wine exports to non-EU markets by about 8% in value in the quarter.

The U.S. remains the most important foreign market for Italian wine, and the third-quarter gain eased some of the pressure on exporters after a weak start to the year. The value of Italian wine shipments to the American market reached €1.27 billion in the first nine months of 2026, leaving exports down 6% for the year to date. That was an improvement from the 14% decline recorded at the end of June.

UIV said the latest readings, updated through Oct. 16, strengthened a recovery that had started to appear in July. At that point, Italian wine exports to the U.S. were up 10% by value, with volumes rising 1.3% and average prices up 8%. The more recent quarterly figures show a broader pickup, with average prices increasing 9.5% in the third quarter as volumes also turned positive.

The main question is whether the rebound reflects stronger drinking demand in the U.S. or simply a restocking cycle. UIV pointed to data from SipSource, which tracks distributor sales to retail and on-premise outlets in the United States, showing that sales of Italian wine were still down 5.3% from the start of the year. That gap between import shipments and sales to stores and restaurants has led the group to caution against describing the move as a full market recovery.

Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of UIV, said the provisional export figures are encouraging after what he described as a very difficult summer in 2025, but he said it is too early to speak of normalization. He noted that third-quarter export values are still 10% below the level of the same quarter two years ago and said the current improvement appears more likely to reflect U.S. trade buyers rebuilding inventories than a real increase in consumer purchases.

Red wines were the main driver of the summer rebound. UIV said Italian red wine exports to the U.S. climbed 33% by value in the third quarter, while average prices for that category rose by more than 15%. The performance gave producers some relief after more than a year of pressure in the American market, even if it did not erase broader weaknesses.

The distinction matters beyond wine alone because the U.S. is a key market for beverage companies making decisions on shipments, pricing, promotions, and stock levels. A rise in imports without a matching increase in sell-through can lead producers and distributors to misread demand, especially at a time when buyers across wine, beer, spirits, and other drinks are watching inventories closely.

The stronger U.S. quarter also improved the picture for Italian wine exports outside the European Union as a whole, though the broader trend remains weak. UIV said exports to non-EU destinations were still down 3% in value in the first nine months of the year, at roughly €3.3 billion, on volumes above 740 million liters. Among Italy’s five largest export markets by value, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan all remained in negative territory on a January-to-September basis.

Some other markets moved in the opposite direction. Russia and China were both up by about 20%, according to UIV, while Brazil also remained positive. Even so, those gains were not enough to offset the softness in larger established destinations.

The trade group’s figures fit into a broader slowdown in Italian wine exports. Based on Istat data cited by UIV, total Italian wine exports in the first seven months of 2026 were down 5.3% by value from the same period in 2025. That reading covers all destinations and a different reporting window, but it points to the same underlying problem: shipments have improved in recent months, yet the annual picture is still negative.

UIV also said the last marketing year, which ran from Aug. 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026, was especially difficult in the U.S. In inflation-adjusted terms, Italian wine exports to the American market were worth €1.634 billion, the weakest result since the 2015-2016 marketing year. The real decline was 15% from the average of the previous five marketing years. In nominal terms, Italian exports fell 16%, compared with a 22% drop for France, which remains the leading supplier in the U.S. market.

Industry officials say the weakness is not only about Italian wine. The market has been shaped by tariff tensions, a weaker dollar, inflation, and lower consumer purchasing power. UIV has also warned about the possibility of additional duties linked to U.S. trade scrutiny over overcapacity. Those pressures have made the American market harder for European suppliers just as they prepare for important fall meetings with importers and distributors, including Vinitaly USA in New York this month.

At the same time, producers are dealing with a deeper change in drinking habits. UIV has said demand is shifting not only within wine, toward sparkling wines and cocktail-related formats, but also toward other beverage categories such as ready-to-drink products, hard teas, and kombucha. Packaging and convenience are becoming more important, and those shifts are affecting what consumers buy, where they buy it, and how often they drink.

That means the recent rise in exports to the U.S. offers breathing room for Italian wineries, but it does not yet settle the more important question for the market: whether the bottles now moving back into American warehouses will also move through stores, restaurants, and bars at a faster pace in the coming months.