UIV: Italian wine export −6.2% in H1 2026 as still bottles lead the slide
Osservatorio UIV puts H1 export value above €3.6bn (−6.2%) and volumes −4%. Nine of the top ten buyers fall; the US is −14.1% (€849m). Sparkling holds (+0.4%); bottled still drops −8.9%. Frescobaldi calls for a systemic rethink of supply.
Italy’s wine ship still floats — but the tide is against it.
Unione Italiana Vini’s Osservatorio, reading Istat figures released 11 September, puts first-half 2026 exports above €3.6 billion, down 6.2% in value, with volumes −4% and average export price −2.3%. Orders fell in nine of the top ten buyer markets. The United States alone is −14.1% to €849 million; Germany −6.8% (€534m); the UK −6.6% (€346m). Extra-EU demand is −7.5%, EU −4.2%.
Bright spots remain: Russia +15.7%, China +19.8%, Brazil +8.2% and Mercosur as a bloc +18.4%. By style, sparkling is almost flat (+0.4%) while bottled still wine drops −8.9% — reds −9.3%, whites −7%. Among regions, Veneto −8.4% and Tuscany −7.4%; Piedmont climbs back to second place (+2.4%) on Asti Spumante.
Provisional July–August extra-EU data already hint at a rebound, including a double-digit US bounce versus the wrecked summer of 2025. UIV president Lamberto Frescobaldi still argues for a “sistemica riorganizzazione” of supply — treating oversupply and soft demand as one system, not a marketing patch.
Mini-concept: export value is bottles × price × willing buyers. When still bottles and the US both soften, national totals fall even if sparkling holds.
Keep: when an Italian still red looks cheap abroad, ask whether the kilo paid the hillside or only cleared stock.
Remember: H1 >€3.6bn (−6.2%); US −14.1%; sparkling +0.4% vs bottled still −8.9%.
Source: Unione Italiana Vini