Portugal's still wine sales fell 4.37% in tracked channels during the first half of 2026

Portugal sold less still wine in the first half of 2026, but spending on those sales edged up as the average revenue per liter increased, according to new market data released by the country’s wine institute.

From January through June, sales of certified and non-certified still wine in the distribution and restaurant channels covered by the survey fell to 111.51 million liters, down from 116.61 million liters in the same period of 2025. That was a decline of 5.10 million liters, or 4.37%.

Over the same period, the value of those sales rose slightly to €584.67 million from €581.90 million, an increase of €2.78 million, or 0.48%. The average revenue per liter climbed to €5.243 from €4.990, up 5.07%.

The figures come from Vendas no Mercado Nacional – Junho 2026, an institutional statistical release from Portugal’s Instituto da Vinha e do Vinho, or IVV, based on Nielsen data. The official record for the file is dated Wednesday, November 11. The release covers sales in the channels tracked by the study and does not measure total national wine consumption.

The data show a sharper contraction in restaurants and other food service outlets than in distribution. In the restaurant channel, volume fell 8.75% in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier. Even so, sales value in that channel increased 1.04%, while the average revenue per liter rose 10.72%.

In distribution, the declines were smaller. Volume slipped 1.48% and sales value fell 0.63% from the January-June 2025 period.

The split between those two channels helps explain why the market’s overall revenue held nearly steady despite the drop in liters sold. The combined data point to lower physical sales and a higher revenue yield per liter, especially in food service, rather than a broad recovery in demand.

The IVV file compares the first six months of 2026 with the same months of 2025. It is not a month-to-month comparison and does not compare the first half with the immediately preceding half-year. The calculations were made from the original January-June 2025 and January-June 2026 columns in the source file.

The institute also notes an important scope change affecting the distribution channel. Since January 2025, distribution data exclude sales from Grupo Jerónimo Martins. That means the results reflect the channels as covered by the current dataset, not the entire Portuguese retail market.

The average revenue per liter should also be read with caution. The measure combines changes in prices, product mix and channel mix, so it does not isolate inflation. A higher figure can reflect consumers buying different wines or shifts between retail and restaurant sales, not only higher shelf or menu prices.

Even with that limitation, the first-half figures show a clear pattern in Portugal’s still wine market. Households and restaurant customers bought fewer liters in the channels monitored by the IVV, while producers and sellers broadly preserved revenue through a higher average take per liter.