Italian still wine sales in supermarkets fell 3.2% through August

Italian wine sales continued to weaken in the domestic market through the summer, even as bottling activity picked up in September, offering producers a sign that demand could improve before the year-end holiday season.

Data published Monday by Fondazione Qualivita, citing an analysis by Nomisma and bottling figures from Valoritalia, showed that still wines sold through Italy’s large-scale retail channel fell 3.2% by volume between January and August. Red wines posted the sharpest decline, down 4.4%, while white wines fell 1.9% and rosé wines were down 2.2%.

Sparkling wines moved in the opposite direction. Their sales volume rose 2.7% over the same period, supported by Prosecco and by gains in traditional-method sparkling wines, including Trento DOP and Franciacorta DOP.

The figures point to a divided market as Italian producers head into the most important sales period of the year. Wineries in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia are already receiving orders from Italian and foreign customers ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations, when wine consumption usually rises and many companies depend on seasonal demand for a large share of annual revenue and profit.

Denis Pantini, head of Agrifood and Wine Monitor at Nomisma, said the strongest products so far this year have been sparkling wines, especially Prosecco, along with white wines. Red wines, he said, have been under the most pressure, affecting several of Italy’s best-known producing regions, including Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto and Sicily.

The weakness has not been limited to the home market. According to the same Nomisma analysis, Italian wine exports declined between January and July in nine of the country’s top 12 global markets. The release did not provide country-by-country figures, but the broad pattern suggests that producers are dealing with softer demand in several major destinations at the same time.

Even so, the latest bottling data offered a more positive sign. Pantini said September bottlings recovered after significant declines in the first two quarters of the year. Based on Valoritalia data, he said the rebound could indicate that producers have more orders to fill in the final months of 2026.

That matters because bottling is often one of the clearest operational signals in the wine business. A rise can reflect improving confidence among wineries and distributors, even if retail sales data still show weakness. For beverage companies, the current split between categories and price tiers could shape decisions on product mix, promotions and production planning in the months ahead, especially for companies exposed to wine but also for broader drinks portfolios competing for the same consumer spending.

Nomisma’s analysis also showed that the decline was less severe when measured by value rather than volume. Pantini said the drop in value for still and sparkling wines was limited to 2%, suggesting that higher-quality products have held up better than the market as a whole.

He said the data point to a strong polarization in prices. Entry-level wines have remained resilient, while higher-priced segments have also grown. That leaves the middle under greater pressure. Pantini said consumers may be buying wine less often but choosing to spend more when they do, in search of better quality.

That trend could have practical consequences across the beverage sector. Retailers may shift shelf space toward lower-priced labels that still move in large volumes and toward premium bottles that deliver higher margins, while midpriced products face a tougher environment. Producers, in turn, may need to decide whether to defend volume in mainstream segments or focus on categories that are proving more resilient, such as sparkling wine and selected premium labels.

The latest data underline how uneven the Italian wine market has become in 2026. Demand in supermarkets remains weak for still wines, export markets have softened in most key destinations tracked by Nomisma, and red wines are under heavier pressure than whites and sparkling products. At the same time, September bottling activity suggests wineries may be preparing for a stronger finish to the year if holiday orders continue to build.