China spent more on imported wine despite lower volumes through September

China spent more on imported wine in the first nine months of 2026 even as the country bought less of it, according to a new analysis of Chinese customs data by the Spanish consultancy Del Rey Analysts of Wine Markets, known as AWM.

The report, dated Oct. 22, shows that China imported US$1.167 billion worth of wine from January through September, up 5.6% from the same period a year earlier. That was an increase of US$61.9 million. Over the same stretch, import volume fell 5.5% to 156.9 million liters, a drop of about 9 million liters.

The gap between value and volume means the recovery was monetary, not physical. AWM said the average import value rose 11.7% to US$7.44 per liter, up US$0.78 from a year earlier. The firm said that points to a mix shift toward higher-value wines. It also warned that customs data measure cross-border trade, not final consumer purchases, and that the higher average value does not prove a broad and uniform rise in prices across all wines.

The strongest part of the market was sparkling wine. Chinese imports of sparkling wine rose 31.6% in value to US$64.5 million in the January-September period. Volume in that category climbed 27.4% to 7.1 million liters. That made sparkling wine the main exception in a market where most categories are still under pressure.

By contrast, non-sparkling bottled wine, which makes up the largest share of China’s wine imports, posted a much smaller gain in value. Imports in that category rose 5.7% to US$1.0598 billion, while volume fell 10.8% to 94.6 million liters. AWM also reported declines in bag-in-box and bulk wine imports.

The figures suggest that China’s import market is still adjusting rather than broadly recovering. Importers are paying more overall, but they are taking in less wine. Sparkling wine stands out because it grew in both value and volume at the same time.

That shift matters because China’s wine import market has shrunk sharply over the past several years. According to AWM, the value of wine imports peaked at nearly US$2.9 billion in 2018 and then fell to less than US$1.2 billion in 2023. There was some recovery in 2024, but imports declined again in 2025. Against that background, the 2026 increase in value offers some relief, though the market remains below earlier levels and volumes have not returned to growth.

One of the clearest winners in the sparkling segment has been Italy. AWM said Italian sparkling wine exports to China rose 53.8% by volume in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 4.4 million liters, or about 489,000 nine-liter cases. That was a much faster increase than France, whose shipments rose 21.3% to 1.3 million liters, or about 144,000 cases.

The two countries are competing in different price bands. Italian sparkling wine entered China at an average price of US$4.66 per liter, according to AWM, while French sparkling wine was sold at about US$30 per liter on average. That gap helps explain why Italy has gained ground in volume. Its wines are positioned in a more affordable part of the market at a time when buyers appear willing to spend more than last year overall, but not necessarily on the most expensive products.

Other suppliers saw smaller changes. Spanish sparkling wine exports to China were broadly stable at about 860,000 liters, while Australian shipments rose 16.6% to 426,486 liters. AWM said Italy’s gains were the most pronounced among the main exporters in absolute volume terms.

The report does not claim that Chinese consumers are suddenly drinking more imported wine. Instead, it shows a market where importers are favoring wines that generate higher revenue per liter, while total purchased volume continues to fall. Sparkling wine is the clearest area of growth, and Italy has benefited most from that trend so far by expanding quickly at prices far below French levels.

The customs figures therefore show two developments at once. China’s wine import bill is rising again after years of decline, but that increase rests on a higher average value per liter rather than on a broad return to larger shipments. At the same time, sparkling wine is outperforming the rest of the market, with stronger demand and rising revenue.

AWM based its analysis on Chinese customs records covering trade flows from January through September 2026 and compared them with the same period in 2025. That distinction matters because customs values can reflect changes in product mix, contract terms, and the relative weight of premium categories. They do not directly measure retail demand or prove that wine prices moved up evenly across all origins and segments.

For exporters, the data point to a market that remains difficult but is no longer moving in only one direction. The biggest imported category, non-sparkling bottled wine, is still losing ground in volume even as its value edges higher. Sparkling wine, on the other hand, is growing in both measures, suggesting that this niche is taking on a larger role in China’s imported wine business. Italy’s recent gains show that suppliers with lower price points and enough scale can capture that shift even while the broader market remains smaller than it was a few years ago.