Italy Dominates U.S. Organic Wine Imports With a 51% Share

Italy is the leading foreign supplier of organic wine in the United States, according to a new 2026 market focus from Ita.Bio, an initiative backed by Italy’s trade agency ICE with support from FederBio and research by Nomisma.

The study said the United States imported €35.6 million worth of Italian organic wine in 2025. In the first eight months of 2026, the value of those imports rose +2.2% from the same period in 2025. Italy held a 51% share by value of U.S. organic wine imports, well ahead of other supplier countries, the report said.

The findings come as the broader U.S. organic market continues to expand. Nomisma said U.S. sales of organic products reached €60.4 billion, up +105.8% from 2014. It also said 54% of Americans buy organic products at least once a week, showing that organic goods have moved into regular household consumption.

The report pointed to a strong opening for Italian exporters beyond wine. In a survey of 1,000 household food purchasing decision-makers ages 18 to 65 in New York and California, 43% said they had bought an Italian-made organic food product at least once in the previous year. Italy also ranked first for perceived quality and safety in organic products, with 56% of respondents placing it ahead of countries including France and Canada.

Italian organic wine appears to be benefiting from that wider reputation at a time when the U.S. wine market is changing. The study said total wine consumption in the United States fell to 31 million hectoliters in 2025, down 10% from 2019. At the same time, it said consumer interest is rising for products seen as innovative, healthier or lower in alcohol, which may be helping support demand for organic labels.

Even with Italy’s lead, the report said several barriers are still limiting growth. Among organic consumers who do not buy Italian organic products, 40% said prices were too high, 37% said the products were not easy to find in their usual shopping channels, and 30% said they had trouble recognizing them on store shelves or in restaurants.

Brand recognition stood out as a major issue in the survey. Nomisma said 82% of respondents believed that a dedicated “Biologico Italiano” logo, meant to identify organic products made with 100% Italian ingredients, could encourage purchases. The study also found that 74% of consumers would be willing to pay more for an Italian organic product than for a similar U.S. organic product.

The data on wine showed a favorable image among current buyers. Fifteen percent of U.S. consumers surveyed said they already buy Italian organic wine. Among those buyers, 71% said they considered it superior to organic wines from the United States and France, citing taste, grape variety and Italy’s winemaking tradition. The report added that nearly half of consumers who do not yet buy Italian organic wine still recognize it as a distinctive, high-quality product.

The study also suggested room for future expansion. One-third of current buyers said they expect to increase their consumption of Italian organic wine over the next two to three years. Among consumers who do not currently buy it, 25% said they could start. Restaurants may play an important role in that shift: 64% of non-buyers said they would be willing to try a bottle of Italian organic wine if it were recommended on a menu or by restaurant staff.

Emanuele Di Faustino, Nomisma’s head of industry, retail and services, said the U.S. market gives Italian organic producers a favorable starting point because consumers already associate Italy with quality and safety. He said the challenge is to turn that perception into stronger sales by addressing the main barriers to purchase and by improving visibility, recognition and distribution across sales channels.

Aldo Cervi, coordinator of the service operators section at FederBio, said the new Biologico Italiano mark could strengthen origin recognition, which the survey identified as an important competitive factor. He also said Italian companies will need support in international expansion, and that the Ita.Bio platform is intended to provide market data, consumer analysis and networking opportunities for businesses targeting the U.S. market.