2026-06-11
Italy’s wine industry is facing weaker demand at home and abroad, but most producers still see the business as attractive and expect conditions to improve next year, according to a new survey by Mediobanca’s research area.
The study, released this week and reported by Horeca Channel Italia, found that 70% of Italian wine producers still consider the sector appealing even after several years of softer consumption. At the same time, 80% of producers said they had seen wine consumption decline over the past five years, a sign of how broad the slowdown has become across the market.
The pressure showed up clearly in 2025 results. Italy’s largest wine producers posted a 2.8% drop in sales from 2024, with exports down 3.4% and domestic sales down 2.2%. The figures suggest that foreign markets, long a key growth engine for Italian wine, were weaker than the home market last year.
The downturn also appeared in national drinking habits. Per capita wine consumption in Italy fell to 35.6 liters in 2025 from 38 liters in 2022. That decline adds to concerns about changing consumer behavior, especially as younger drinkers in many markets shift toward lower-alcohol beverages, moderation or different categories altogether.
Smaller companies appear to be under greater strain. Producers with revenue below €30 million recorded a 3.5% decline in sales, underperforming the broader group measured in the survey. That gap points to the challenge for smaller wineries that have less scale, fewer export outlets and less room to absorb weaker demand or invest in new strategies.
Even so, many producers are looking past the current adjustment. Mediobanca said 58% of the largest wine producers expect total sales to rise in 2026. The outlook suggests that companies believe the present phase is not only a downturn but also part of a tougher selection process that could favor stronger and better-positioned businesses.
The survey indicates that producers are already adapting their plans. Diversifying product offerings was identified as the main response to changing consumption patterns, cited by 72% of companies. Expanding into new markets or developing existing ones followed at 64%. Marketing and communication ranked as a priority for 60% of respondents, while developing new sales channels and increasing attention to sustainability were each mentioned by 45%.
Half of the companies surveyed said that controlling the full production and commercial chain was the most suitable organizational model for the current environment. That preference reflects a push for tighter oversight on costs, branding, distribution and customer relationships at a time when margins and volumes are under pressure.
The Mediobanca survey covered 255 leading Italian joint-stock companies in the wine sector. For the first time, the report also included a focus on Italy’s “Dop Economy” in wine, prepared with Fondazione Qualivita. That part of the study examined the economic weight of wines with protected designation labels and tracked how production rules are changing.
According to the report, Italy’s wine sector includes 522 Dop and Igp denominations, which account for 79% of the value of national wine production. The analysis drew on official data from Italy’s Agriculture Ministry and the European Commission and reviewed more than 440 changes to production regulations involving more than 160 Italian denominations between 2022 and 2025.
The review looked at four main areas: production, territory, market and consumers. The emphasis on rule changes is significant because denomination standards shape what producers can grow, how wines are made and how regions position themselves in domestic and export markets. In practice, those revisions can become one of the tools wineries use to respond to shifts in demand without abandoning the value tied to origin labels.
The findings arrive at a delicate moment for Italian wine. The industry remains one of the country’s most important food and beverage sectors, but it is dealing with lower consumption, weaker export momentum and rising competitive pressure. For producers, especially smaller ones, the next phase may depend on whether efforts to broaden portfolios, reach new buyers and strengthen brand positioning can offset a market that is no longer expanding as easily as it once did.