Spain’s wine consumption fell below 9 million hectoliters after an 8.1% annual drop

Wine consumption in Spain fell by 79.1 million liters over the 12 months from August 2025 through July 2026, dropping the domestic market below nine million hectoliters a year after a period of relative stability, according to an October report by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organization, known as OIVE.

The report, based on data from the Agriculture Ministry’s Infovi system, said apparent wine consumption in Spain totaled 8.96 million hectoliters in the 12-month period, down 8.1% from the previous 12 months. That was a decline of 790,689 hectoliters, or 79.1 million liters, compared with the earlier period, when annual consumption was about 9.75 million hectoliters.

The drop marks a clear break from the pattern seen since late 2022, when annual wine consumption in Spain had remained between 9.6 million and 9.9 million hectoliters. OIVE said the downturn began in the second half of 2025, and the latest 12-month figures capture the first full year of that decline.

The economic picture was somewhat less severe than the fall in volume, but sales still moved lower. Using Nielsen IQ data for food retail and hospitality, which OIVE treats as broadly comparable with the Infovi period, the report said those two channels sold about 6.4 million hectoliters of wine, down 2.9%, for roughly 3.3 billion euros, down 1%.

Average price rose from 5.07 euros to 5.16 euros per liter, an increase of 1.9%. That price gain softened the effect of lower volumes, but it did not reverse it. Once inflation is taken into account, the decline in revenue becomes more pronounced. OIVE said the real value of sales in food retail and hospitality fell 4.5%, compared with the 1% nominal decline. In other words, holding close to the same number of euros in sales did not preserve purchasing power.

The contrast is sharper because the previous 12-month period had already shown the same pattern on a smaller scale. Nominal sales in those channels had risen 1.8%, but after adjusting for inflation they had already slipped 0.8%.

Food retail held up better than hospitality in revenue terms. Wine sales in retail reached 421.83 million liters, down from 432.85 million liters a year earlier, a drop of about 11 million liters or 2.5%. Even so, revenue in that channel rose 0.9% to 1.92 billion euros, about 18 million euros more than in the previous period. The average price increased 3.6% to 4.55 euros per liter. That meant retailers took in more money while selling less wine, but after inflation the value of those sales still fell 2.5%.

Hospitality, by contrast, lost both volume and revenue. Sales declined from 227.55 million liters to 219.65 million liters, down 7.9 million liters or 3.5%. Revenue fell 3.7% to 1.39 billion euros, a loss of 52.9 million euros. Average price did not provide support in that channel, slipping 0.2% to 6.33 euros per liter. After inflation, OIVE said the fall in hospitality revenue widened to 7%.

Those movements also changed the balance of the audited market. Food retail accounted for 65.76% of volume and 58% of value, while hospitality represented 34.24% of volume and 42% of value. Hospitality’s share of sales by value was down from 43.15% a year earlier. The sector still commands a higher average price than retail, but it lost economic weight during the period.

The report makes clear that the 8.1% fall shown by Infovi and the 2.9% decline measured by Nielsen are not directly contradictory because they track different parts of the market. Apparent consumption is calculated from wine leaving wineries for the domestic market, excluding vinegar and distillation, minus wine entering from other wineries. It is not a direct survey of what consumers drink. Nielsen, by contrast, measures volume, value and category performance in food retail and hospitality, but it does not separately cover every route through which wine reaches buyers.

OIVE said the difference is largely explained by what it calls the “other channels” segment. That includes wine shops, wine clubs, online sales, direct winery sales and self-consumption. OIVE estimates that block at 2.55 million hectoliters, down from 3.15 million hectoliters a year earlier, a decline of 19.1%. Based on the rounded channel figures in the report, the reduction of about 600,000 hectoliters in those other channels accounts for roughly three-quarters of the total year-over-year drop in apparent consumption.

OIVE also said that estimate should be treated with caution. It is calculated by difference rather than from audited sales in each activity, so it does not mean wine shops or direct winery sales each fell at that rate. The organization said the result could also reflect an undervaluation of hospitality sales. That leaves the sharpest estimated drop in the part of the market where the least direct information is available.

Within food retail and hospitality, wines with protected designation of origin, known in Spain as DOP, remained the leading category. They sold 3.57 million hectoliters and generated 2.33 billion euros, equal to 55.6% of volume and 70.4% of value in the audited market. Sales of DOP wines fell 1.9% in liters and 0.9% in euros, meaning they performed better than the market as a whole even though they were not immune to the slowdown.

Performance differed by channel. In food retail, DOP wines lost 3% of volume but increased value by 0.6%. In hospitality, volume was nearly flat, down just 0.5%, while revenue fell 2.4%. DOP wines account for 81.3% of wine revenue in hospitality, so even a modest drop in price or mix has a large effect on the channel’s total.

Wines with protected geographical indication, or IGP, posted the steepest percentage declines among the main categories. Their sales fell 16.5% in volume and 14.3% in value. The decline affected both major channels but was worse in hospitality, where volume dropped 22.5% and revenue fell 17.6%. In food retail, IGP wines were down 10.7% in volume and 10.2% in value.

Wines without geographical indication, the second-largest group by volume with a 29.3% share, saw sales fall 4.1% in liters and 1.8% in euros. Their share of market value was only 11.6%, far below their share of physical volume. In food retail, revenue for these wines rose 1.4% despite a 3% decline in volume. In hospitality, however, value fell 8.1% and volume dropped 7.2%. The residual “other wines” category also weakened, down 12.5% in volume and 5.8% in value.

Sparkling wines moved in the opposite direction from most of the market. They rose 1.3% in volume and 2.3% in value, reaching 10.3% of audited liters and 12.8% of audited revenue. Growth came from food retail, where sparkling wine sales reached 57.9 million liters and 351.7 million euros, up 2.5% and 3.7%, respectively. In hospitality, sparkling wine went the other way, falling 6.7% in volume and 4% in value.

The report also included alcohol-free wine as a separate category for the first time. Sales rose 9.3% in volume and 30.6% in value, but the segment still accounts for only 0.5% of audited liters and 0.4% of audited revenue. The gains are large in percentage terms because the base remains small, and the category is not large enough to offset losses in the bigger segments of the market.

Alcohol-free wine also showed a split between channels. In food retail, volume increased 16.6% and revenue rose 34.1%. In hospitality, volume fell 25.8% even as value increased 4.8%, helped by a 41.3% rise in average price. That means hospitality brought in more revenue from alcohol-free wine while selling more than one-quarter fewer liters than a year earlier.