Fine Wine Market Stabilizes as Buyers Shift to Lower-Priced Labels

The fine wine market showed signs of stabilization at the end of 2025, according to new data from Liv-ex, the global exchange for fine wine. The company’s January Market Report points to a shift in buyer behavior, with increased trading in lower-priced wines and a broader range of labels seeing activity. This trend has led to a cautiously optimistic outlook for early 2026.

Liv-ex’s major indices remained steady in December. The Fine Wine 100, which tracks the price movement of 100 highly sought-after wines, rose 0.4%. The broader Fine Wine 1000 index, which covers 1,000 wines from around the world, was flat compared to November. Only 37.9% of the Fine Wine 1000’s components fell in price during December, the lowest proportion since September 2022.

Despite this stability, the Fine Wine 1000 ended 2025 down 4.5%. However, the average cost per case traded dropped by 12.3%, indicating that while the overall number of wines traded remained similar to previous years, there was a clear increase in trade volumes for lower-priced wines. This shift suggests buyers are seeking value and diversifying their purchases across more affordable options.

European buyers played a significant role in this trend. In 2025, total European purchase value on Liv-ex rose by 48.2% year-on-year. This increase is expected to continue into 2026 as European demand remains strong. Tom Burchfield, Head of Market Intelligence at Liv-ex, commented that “the outlook at the start of 2026 is decidedly more positive than it was at the start of 2025.” He noted that European buyers are seeing new opportunities and that sentiment in the Asian market has also improved.

The UK market remains cautious but is showing signs of renewed interest as some participants begin to buy for stock again. In contrast, uncertainty persists in the US market due to ongoing tariffs on imported wines. Despite subdued demand from American buyers, Liv-ex analysts believe the global fine wine market is entering a recovery phase.

Looking at sub-indices within Liv-ex’s data, the Rhone 100 led with a gain of 1.6% in December and was the only index to record positive returns for all of 2025. The worst-performing indices were Second Wine 50 (down 9.4%), Right Bank 100 (down 8.2%), and Right Bank 50 (down 7.3%). While prices have stabilized, overall market activity is still recovering; trade volume in Q4 2025 was down 7.2% and trade value down 9.2% compared to Q4 2024.

One notable development is the breadth of wines traded on Liv-ex in 2025, which reached a record high with over 5,000 unique labels and more than 12,000 unique label-and-vintage combinations changing hands during the year.

As global demand patterns shift and buyers focus on value-driven purchases, industry observers will be watching closely to see if these early signs of recovery continue through the first half of 2026.