Chile’s bottled wine exports fell 5.2% through September, deepening pressure on producers

Chile’s wine industry is reshaping itself as global wine consumption keeps falling and export demand remains uneven across key markets, pushing major producers to lean more on acquisitions, product changes, tourism and potential asset sales.

Data from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine, or OIV, show that global wine consumption totaled 208 million hectoliters in 2025, down 2.7% from 2024 and 14% from 2018. Nine of the 10 largest wine-consuming markets posted declines, with the United States, France and China accounting for a large share of the drop over recent years.

That broader trend is now showing up clearly in Chile, one of the world’s major wine exporters. According to Vinos de Chile, the industry group that represents the sector, Chile’s bottled wine exports reached $902.7 million from January through September 2026, down 5.2% in value and 5.3% in volume from the same period a year earlier. September posted a 2.1% rise in value on a monthly basis, but the industry group said that did not yet amount to a sustained recovery.

Demand varied sharply by market. Brazil remained the main destination for Chilean bottled wine and grew 7.9% in value through September. The United Kingdom rose 5.5% and Russia climbed 27%. But shipments to the United States, China and Japan fell, underscoring the pressure on exporters to spread risk across a wider set of markets.

A November 2 bulletin from Chile’s Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies, known as Odepa, showed a broader decline in the country’s wine trade. Total wine exports from January through September reached 475.6 million liters, down 8.8% in volume from the same period of 2025. Both wines with denomination of origin and bulk wines declined, with bulk wine volumes falling 11.4%.

The weaker market has also shown up in corporate results. Recent third-quarter reports from the country’s three main publicly traded wine companies point to an industry where revenue is no longer relying only on bottle sales. Companies are adjusting portfolios, trying new formats, adding services and pushing related businesses to protect margins.

Vinos de Chile said changing consumer preferences are being felt globally as buyers put more weight on moderation and wellness. The group said some wineries are adapting their portfolios with fresher and lighter styles, lower-alcohol wines and alcohol-free alternatives. It also said white wines, sparkling wines and wines from Chile’s coastal and southern regions may offer opportunities because they fit those preferences and make use of the country’s range of climates and growing areas.

For the beverage industry more broadly, Chile’s experience offers a view of how a major exporting country is adapting to lower alcohol consumption and uneven international demand. That could have implications for product development, distribution strategies and capital allocation not only in wine, but also in adjacent categories such as beer, spirits and wine-based drinks.

Viña Concha y Toro, the country’s largest producer, reported a 2.2% drop in consolidated sales in the third quarter and a 4.7% decline for the first nine months of 2026. Consolidated wine sales fell 2.8% in the quarter and 5% through September. Its beer and spirits business dropped 3.3% in the quarter and 12.8% in the first nine months.

One area of growth for Concha y Toro came from its “other products and services” segment, which rose 29.4% in the third quarter and 32.1% through September. The company said that segment includes materials and supplies, merchandising, winemaking services, bottling services and other related services provided to clients.

The company has also moved to widen its geographic reach. In February, it completed a deal to acquire Maison Mirabeau, a rosé brand from Provence, adding France to its international operations. At the same time, Concha y Toro is evaluating the sale of more than 130 hectares of land in Chile’s Metropolitan Region as part of a plan to monetize real estate assets that are not essential to operations. The properties under review include land in Tocornal, Concha y Toro Poniente and Quinta Maipo. At its most recent investor day, the company estimated the market value of those assets at between $240 million and $350 million.

Viña San Pedro Tarapacá, or VSPT, a unit of CCU, posted a more mixed result. Consolidated sales rose 3.4% in the third quarter, but for the first nine months of the year they fell 5.9%. The company has been changing its offer to match new consumption patterns. During 2025, it expanded the Gato Selección line with sweet varieties and developed Gato Negro Smooth Chardonnay, a lower-alcohol cocktail for Nordic markets. In 2026, it launched Gentle, a Viña Tarapacá line aimed at consumers looking for premium wines with softer profiles and less formal drinking occasions.

In August, VSPT also announced a new line of wine-based beverages under the Colón Selecto brand. The company said volumes in Argentina more than doubled from a year earlier, helped by strong performance from Colón Selecto Dulce. The move points to a broader push by Chilean producers into formats that sit closer to ready-to-drink and flavored beverage trends than to traditional wine.

Viña Santa Rita has relied more heavily on tourism and other related activities. The company reported a 12.7% drop in sales in the third quarter of 2026, but still posted a 1.5% increase for the January-to-September period, making it the only one of the three to show growth for the year so far. Tourism was a key support. Revenue from that business rose 18.7% in the first nine months of the year, helping offset weakness in other segments.

Santa Rita also said its business in Argentina faced pressure from local inflation running well above the depreciation of the peso against the dollar, which raised costs in dollar terms and hurt export margins. Fewer cases were sold during the period as well. The company said those effects were partly offset by a higher average price in the domestic market and better results from other sales, including bulk wine, grapes and tourism.

The company said it has redefined its commercial strategy around strengthening its main brands and reinforcing its position in higher-value segments. At the same time, it has stepped up initiatives aimed at mass-market segments in an effort to recover market share and improve the sales mix.

The industry group said the downturn in wine consumption should be viewed as a long-term structural shift rather than a short cycle. It pointed to generational changes, altered habits and economic pressure as drivers of lower demand and said recovery expectations should be realistic. In that setting, the sector’s future is likely to depend more on its ability to create value, differentiate products, improve efficiency and find growth outside the traditional model of selling more standard bottles into a handful of large export markets.