Burgundy’s red wine sales fell 4.9%, exposing weakness in even its most prized bottles

Burgundy, one of France’s most closely watched wine regions, is no longer escaping the downturn affecting the wider wine market. Figures published by the Burgundy Wine Board, or CVB, on Friday, October 30, showed that still wine sales in the region fell 1.3% over the 12 months from July 2025 to July 2026, with 166 million bottles sold.

The decline was driven mainly by red wine, which has come under pressure across France as drinking habits change. In Burgundy, red wine sales fell 4.9% over the period, according to the CVB. The group said the drop was visible across the full price range, including grand cru wines from Côte-d’Or, a sign that even labels usually shielded by scarcity and reputation are seeing weaker demand.

That marks a notable shift for a region often viewed as better protected than higher-volume areas such as Bordeaux or Languedoc. Burgundy produces some of the country’s most expensive and internationally sought-after wines, but the new figures suggest that premium positioning alone is not enough to offset broader weakness in red wine consumption.

The trend fits a larger national pattern. Between 2018 and 2023, red wine sales in France fell 26% by volume across all producing regions, compared with a 10% decline for white wines, according to figures cited by Le Figaro. The paper also reported comments from Hervé Remaud, a marketing professor at KEDGE Wine School, who said red wine consumers tend to be older and more often male, underscoring the demographic challenge facing the category.

In Burgundy, white wines held up far better. Their sales edged up 0.4% over the same 12-month period, supported by regional appellations as well as wines from Mâconnais and Chablis. Sparkling wines performed even more strongly. Sales of Crémant de Bourgogne rose 6.5%, extending the broader global growth in sparkling wine. The CVB said the appellation now accounts for 17% of the region’s bottled sales volume, up from 12% in 2021.

Those figures help explain why the region’s product mix matters. Red wine is not the majority of Burgundy’s production, and that balance is increasingly seen as an advantage as demand shifts toward whites and sparkling wines. The contrast is also being watched across the beverage business more broadly, because it suggests that pressure on high-end red wine is no longer limited to lower-priced segments. If that pattern continues, it could affect producers, exporters, importers and distributors that depend on premium French wine.

The sales decline was felt most sharply in France’s domestic market. Abroad, Burgundy posted export volume growth of 2.3% over the same period. But that increase came with weaker pricing or a less favorable sales mix, as export value fell 2.4%. The gap between rising volume and falling value points to a market where buyers are still taking shipments, but at lower prices or with more demand concentrated in less expensive wines.

The United States stood out as the clearest example of that pressure. The value of Burgundy wines imported into the U.S. fell 21.2% between July 2025 and July 2026, according to the CVB, even though the country imported more Burgundy by volume than it had a year earlier. The board linked that setback to American tariff disruptions. For French wine, the U.S. remains one of the most important foreign markets, so a sharp drop in value there is likely to draw close attention across the drinks industry, especially among companies exposed to premium bottles.

The region is now looking for new outlets as it tries to reduce that risk. The CVB said Burgundy is turning its attention to India and its growing middle class. It pointed to the trade agreement signed with the European Union in January 2026, under which Indian duties on European wines and spirits are due to fall gradually from 150% to 20%. A fact-finding mission is underway in India with about a dozen Burgundy companies taking part as the region tests whether the market can become a meaningful source of future growth.