U.S. wine shipments from wholesalers fell 8.0% through September 2026

The volume of wine distributed by U.S. wholesalers fell 8.0% over the 12 months ended September 2026, according to a market update released Wednesday, October 28, by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, which cited data from its SipSource platform. The figures point to a broad contraction in wine shipments from distributors to stores, bars and restaurants, even as some higher-priced categories posted revenue gains.

The report covers wholesale depletions, a measure of product moving out of distributor warehouses into commercial and hospitality channels. It does not measure final consumer purchases at the register, and it does not include certain control states excluded under the methodology. WSWA said SipSource covers about 70% of wholesale volume across all 50 states.

The 8.0% decline shows wine remaining under more pressure than spirits in the same report. WSWA said core spirits volume fell 2.5% over the latest three months from a year earlier and 4.1% over the latest 12 months, while wine’s 12-month volume decline was steeper. The group said both categories are entering the holiday period after weak comparisons in late 2025, when wine volume fell 9.4% during the holiday quarter.

Within wine, the data showed a wide split between segments, especially among bottles priced at $9 and above. Revenue in that price range rose 8.1% for white blends, 6.4% for malbec and 4.5% for sauvignon blanc over the 12-month period. Other categories moved in the opposite direction. Revenue fell 12.4% for merlot, 8.7% for zinfandel and 8.2% for red blends.

WSWA did not publish absolute dollar sales or volume totals for those wine segments, so the report does not show how much money or physical volume was gained or lost in each category. It also does not provide a like-for-like quarterly comparison for wine that would allow a simpler short-term reading of momentum across the full category.

The report said Champagne, Prosecco and sauvignon blanc continued to lead the wine market, while wines priced at $16 and above held up better than lower-priced products. Value wines priced below $13 remained the biggest drag on the category, according to the analysts. SipSource said the gap between volume and revenue trends at higher price tiers probably reflects discounting, suggesting some consumers are still buying premium products when promotions narrow the price difference.

That pattern matters for producers, importers and retailers because a drop in distributed volume does not always translate into the same change in revenue. Revenue can be affected by a mix of factors, including the number of bottles sold, pricing and shifts toward different product types. In this case, WSWA’s data suggests that broad weakness in total wine volume is happening alongside selective resilience in certain varietals and blends.

The report also pointed to differences between sales channels. Over the 12 months through September, on-premise wine and spirits revenue, which includes bars and restaurants, fell 2.5%. Off-premise revenue, which includes retail outlets, declined 5.6%. WSWA said lodging, recreation and transportation venues were the strongest on-premise performers, while convenience stores led the off-premise market.

The broader message from the release was not that wine has recovered, but that the rate of deterioration in beverage alcohol may be stabilizing in some areas. SipSource analyst Danny Brager said in the release that consumers are becoming more selective in their spending and that the industry is not expecting a return to growth until economic conditions improve. Another analyst, Dale Stratton, said the holiday season will provide an important signal for how the category may perform in 2027.

Even so, the report did not present a rebound in wine. The main wine measure remained negative across the full 12-month period from October 2025 through September 2026. That makes the segment one of the weaker parts of the beverage alcohol market tracked by WSWA, particularly at lower price points.

The same release included a separate update on ready-to-drink cocktails and package sizes, showing continued growth in smaller formats in off-premise spirits sales. But those gains do not offset the wine decline in the wholesale depletion data, and the wine results stand on their own as an indication that distributors continue to ship fewer cases into the market than they did a year earlier.

The inventory backdrop also remains tight. WSWA said businesses across the three-tier system are continuing to reduce stock. Wholesale inventories were down 4.5% from a year earlier, based on U.S. Census Bureau data through August 2026, although the inventory-to-sales ratio remained above longer-term historical norms. That suggests wholesalers are still carrying relatively elevated stock compared with sales, even after inventory reductions.

The release was issued from Washington by WSWA, the national trade group for wine and spirits wholesalers. SipSource is the association’s proprietary data platform and is based on depletion and inventory information reported directly by wholesalers. Because the figures exclude National Alcohol Beverage Control Association control states unless otherwise noted, the results reflect only part of the U.S. market.