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Wine Trends in Italy – Week 17–21 August 2026

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A positive harvest, cellars still full and international markets to be rethought.

The week returns the image of a two-speed Italian wine.
On the one hand, the 2026 harvest is starting with encouraging signs of quality in many areas. On the other, wineries are approaching the new harvest with still-high inventories, more selective consumption, and a sharply contracting US market .

We’re not just facing a difficult business environment. The sector is entering a phase in which it becomes necessary to rebalance production and demand, protect the value of bottles, diversify markets, and rethink the relationship with consumers .

Alongside these critical issues, however, interesting signs are emerging: Brazil is growing, the fine wine market is showing an initial recovery, the reputation of European agri-food remains strong, and technological innovation continues to transform the supply chain.

1. 2026 harvest: good quality, but the problem is the stocks

From the Aosta Valley to Sicily, the harvest of early varieties and sparkling wine bases has generally started well, with the average harvest indicated in the text at least ten days early and the quality considered satisfactory, despite some critical climatic issues in the area.

The real point of attention, however, is what the wineries already have in the tanks.

As of July 31 , over 23.5 million hectoliters of PDO wines and over 10.9 million hectoliters of PGI wines were in stock. The regions with the largest PDO stocks include Veneto with approximately 6.93 million hectoliters, Tuscany with 3.39 million, Piedmont with 2.96 million, Trentino-Alto Adige with 1.49 million, and Sicily with 1.47 million.

The point

A good harvest is not enough if the product of the previous campaign has not been absorbed by the market.

For many companies, the strategic problem of the coming period will therefore be less “how much to produce” and increasingly “how much and how to sell” .

2. Climate: early harvests and yields under pressure

Climate change continues to have a significant impact on viticulture.

The case of San Marino reported this week is particularly significant: high temperatures and very little rainfall have caused stress in the vineyards, with a forecast indicating up to 40% fewer grapes than in 2025 , despite the presence of high quality expectations.

The theme goes far beyond a single vintage.

Drought, water management, soil organic matter, varietals, agronomic techniques, and irrigation infrastructure are becoming key factors in the economic competitiveness of wineries.

3. United States: the main market for Italian wine remains in difficulty

Probably the most important data of the week comes from the United States.

In the first half of 2026, US wine imports decreased by 25.2% in value , stopping at around 2.4 billion euros , while volumes fell by 16.8% , to 536.8 million liters.

Italy remains central, but is also suffering from the contraction: 790.8 million euros of wine imported from the USA by Italy, -25% , while in volume our country remains the leading supplier with 170.2 million litres, -9.8% .

The data for Italian sparkling wines is particularly significant: 255.3 million euros, -18.4% , and 60.6 million litres, down 9%.

But June shows some signs of stabilization

The American picture remains negative, but the second quarter shows a slowdown in the decline.

According to data reported by SipSource, wine sales fell by 4.6% , while on-premise sales—restaurants, hotels, and clubs—remained almost stable, with a decline of just 1%, compared to a 5.5% decline in retail.

Also interesting is the greater stability of imported wines, particularly Italian and French, Champagne, sparkling wines and white wines .

The American market has therefore not yet reversed course , but some indicators suggest that the decline could gradually ease.

4. Brazil: a market to follow very carefully

If the United States slows down, it becomes even more important to identify new growth markets.

Brazil is one of the most interesting signals.

In the first half of 2026, Brazilian imports reached 79.4 million liters, 9.1%, for 234.3 million euros, 5.9% .

Italy is also growing: exports reach 19.7 million euros, a 7.2% increase, while volumes rise to 4.8 million liters, a 2.2% increase. Italy ranks fifth in value but third in volume among suppliers to the Brazilian market.

Even more interesting is the long-term perspective: between 2015 and 2025, Brazil recorded very significant growth in wine imports, both in value and volume.

The signal for Italian wineries

Dependence on a few large export markets is becoming a risk.

Brazil and other emerging markets cannot yet replace the United States, but they can become a second growth line in which to invest today to reap results in the coming years .

5. Fine wines: first signs of recovery, with Tuscany leading the way

After a long downturn, the international investment wine market appears to be showing the first signs of recovery.

According to the analysis reported by Cult Wine Investment, the market bottomed out in February 2026, subsequently recording price increases for four consecutive months.

The most interesting element concerns Italy.

In the first half of 2026, Tuscany recorded 1.52% , while Piedmont remained slightly negative at -0.36%. Champagne recorded 0.63%, Rhone 0.35%, and Bordeaux 0.29%.

The recovery, however, does not involve all the major labels uniformly: it is above all some strong or emerging wines that are supporting the recovery.

This suggests that even in the premium segment , awareness alone no longer automatically guarantees revaluation and demand .

6. Wine prices: the entire supply chain must return to reckoning with the consumer

One of the most interesting debates of the week concerns the final price of the bottle.

Luca Cuzziol, one of Italy’s leading distributors of quality wine, raises a very concrete question: producers, distributors, and restaurateurs must question the sustainability of prices.

The problem cannot be attributed to a single link in the supply chain.

After Covid, some price lists increased significantly, while restaurants, distribution, and production simultaneously attempted to protect their margins. The result can be a bottle of wine reaching consumers at a price the market no longer deems consistent with its perceived value.

The message is simple: a wine can be excellent, but if the consumer does not recognize the value of its price it becomes commercially difficult to sell .

7. European wine retains an enormous capital: its reputation

Not all international indications are negative.

European agri-food continues to enjoy a very high reputation on non-EU markets.

According to the survey cited in the text, conducted among over 11,000 consumers in 11 countries, 83% consider European products to be of good quality, 82% tasty, and 81% safe . Furthermore, 57% often or always check the country of origin of their food.

For Italian wine this represents an important competitive capital.

Made in Italy doesn’t start from scratch: it already has reputation, territory, history, perceived quality, and recognizability. The challenge is to transform these values into demand, distribution, consumer relations, and sales .

8. New vineyards: does it still make sense to increase production capacity?

While wineries have to manage significant stocks, Legacoop Agroalimentare draws attention to a strategic issue: the system would allow the planting of almost 7,000 new hectares of vineyards every year.

The Legacoop Wine Coordination Committee is calling for a temporary suspension of new plantings, along with increased liquidity resources for cooperatives.

The reasoning stems from the intersection of several phenomena: climate change, uncertain international markets, changing consumer habits, and growing pressure on corporate profitability.

This is a question the sector will have to seriously address: in a phase of weaker demand, automatically increasing production area can aggravate imbalances rather than resolve them .

9. Innovation: Europe and the New World take different paths

Even on the technological front, the world of wine is changing.

A study published in 2026 in the Journal of Wine Economics , based on the analysis of 9,439 patents filed between 1970 and 2023 in 53 countries , highlights two patterns.

Europe is moving toward greater technological convergence, especially in winemaking machinery, monitoring systems, and quality control.

In the New World, the opposite is happening: technological diversification is growing, especially in engineering, digital technologies, and advanced production and control systems.

Future competition will therefore not only concern terroir, denominations and wine quality, but also innovation capacity, production efficiency, data and technological differentiation .

ITALIAN WINE DOESN’T NEED A FUNERAL-IT NEEDS A NEW STORY

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Enough with the talk of full cellars and declining consumption. It’s time to bring wine back to the masses, engage young people, and transform a difficult period into a new Renaissance for Italian wine.

Cellars full. Consumption down. Exports struggling. Unsold wine. Industry crisis.
We’ve been reading headlines like this for months.

Problems exist, and it would be wrong to deny them. But continuing to describe Italian wine almost exclusively through the word “crisis” risks producing an effect even more dangerous than the crisis itself: convincing producers, consumers, and especially young people that wine belongs to a world destined to slowly shrink.

What if we started changing our perspective?

Not to hide the problems.

But to face them.

Because perhaps Italian wine doesn’t need to be protected from the future. It needs to return to being part of it.

Yes, Italian wineries have too much wine

Let’s start from reality.

According to the Italian Wine Union, in May 2026, stocks in Italian wineries, including wine and must, exceeded 53 million hectoliters , 7.3% more than the same period the previous year. At the same time, in the first months of 2026, both the domestic market and exports showed signs of slowing.

And the problem doesn’t just concern Italy.

The OIV estimates that in 2025, world wine consumption will have fallen to approximately 208 million hectoliters , while global exports have contracted in both volume and value. But there is another figure that deserves attention: approximately 46% of the wine consumed worldwide is traded internationally .

This means one very simple thing:

The market isn’t dead. It’s changed.

And that’s a huge difference.

Maybe we’ve produced too much. But above all, we need to learn to sell differently.

In recent years the world of wine has grown.

New companies, new brands, new labels, new vineyards and new entrepreneurial projects have been born.

Meanwhile, international competition has also increased.

Today many countries produce wine, invest in wine and export wine.

A consumer entering a wine shop in New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, or Berlin can choose from bottles from many parts of the world.

We cannot therefore think that producing a good wine is enough for someone to automatically come and buy it.

Producing no longer means selling.

The real challenge of the coming years will be to realign production and marketing, but at the same time learn how to better describe, distribute, and enhance the value of what we produce.

Because competing solely on price would probably be the worst path for Italy.

Our strength is something else.

We don’t just sell wine. We sell Italy.

Inside an Italian bottle there are more than just grapes and alcohol.

There are hills.

Families.

Villages.

Farmers.

Cellars.

Oenologists.

Artisans.

Restaurateurs.

Sommelier.

Cooks.

Hotels.

Agritourism.

Landscapes.

History.

Design.

Culture.

Tourism.

And above all people .

When a tourist arrives in Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily, Puglia, Trentino-Alto Adige, or one of Italy’s countless wine-growing regions, they rarely simply look for a bottle.

Look for an Italian experience.

And this is where we must start again.

Wine is above all sociality

For too long we have allowed the debate about wine to be reduced almost exclusively to two extremes.

On the one hand, wine is portrayed as a sophisticated, technical, almost intimidating product.

On the other hand, wine is discussed exclusively through the topic of alcohol.

We must have the courage to bring it back to its most authentic dimension:

conviviality.

Italian wine has historically been synonymous with food, gatherings, family, friendship, territory, cuisine, and sharing.

Of course, consumption must be responsible and moderate , and no serious strategy can ignore the risks associated with alcohol abuse.

But responsibility doesn’t mean erasing thousands of years of culture.

It means building a contemporary wine culture.

Drink less, drink better, know what you drink.

And above all: let’s go back to talking to young people

Probably one of the most important matches is played here.

We can’t spend our time wondering:

“Why do young people drink less wine?”

We should ask ourselves:

“What are we doing to make them want to enter our world?”

A twenty-five-year-old doesn’t necessarily have to know a hundred appellations to feel part of the wine culture.

Let’s get him into the vineyard.

Let’s take it during the grape harvest.

Let’s introduce him to the young winemaker.

Let’s tell him who planted that vineyard.

We open our cellars to music, cuisine, art, events, and new forms of socializing.

We create less formal tastings.

We use understandable language.

Let’s bring wine to social media without turning it into a lesson.

We bring producers and new generations together.

We don’t ask young people to adapt to the old world of wine. We help the world of wine evolve with them.

A cellar should go back to being a place where things happen

This could be one of the great transformations of the next decade.

The cellar of the future will not just be the place where wine is produced and stored.

It could become a place where wine is experienced .

Open harvests.

Concerts among the vineyards.

Dinners with producers.

Events dedicated to the territories.

Meetings between young entrepreneurs.

Art.

Design.

Food.

Tourism.

Training.

Informal tastings.

Digital experiences.

Weekend in the vineyard.

Collaborations between wineries, restaurants, hotels, farmhouses, and tour operators.

Wine must once again generate a desire for participation .

Because a person who enters a cellar and knows the producer will hardly look at that bottle in the same way when he finds it on a shelf.

We need to stop just selling bottles

Perhaps this is the most important cultural shift.

A part of the sector continues to think like this:

I produce → I bottle → I distribute → I sell.

But the new model could be much broader:

territory → experience → relationship → community → product → value .

The bottle remains fundamental.

But we can build much more around the bottle.

Wine tourism.

Hospitality.

Catering.

Direct sales.

Wine club.

E-commerce.

Events.

Experiences.

International collaborations.

Digital content.

Community.

The future of Italian wine may depend less on the number of bottles produced and much more on the economic, cultural and emotional value built around each bottle .

Not all wineries will be able to survive alone

If we tell young people every day that wine is an old sector, in crisis and with no prospects, we can’t be surprised if they choose other worlds.

Instead, we also talk about what Italian wine represents.

Earth.
Family.
Business.
Work.
Landscape.
Culture.
Tourism.
Innovation.
Export.
Sociality.
Made in Italy.

We are facing a generation that seeks experiences, authenticity, territories, relationships, and true stories.

We have had all this for centuries.

Maybe we just need to learn to tell it again.

ITALIAN WINE IS NOT FINISHED. IT’S CHANGING.

There will be companies that will have to change.

Wineries that will have to join together.

Productions that will have to decrease.

New markets to conquer.

Business models to be rethought.

And probably some certainties will have to be abandoned.

But we still have extraordinary vineyards, territories known throughout the world, thousands of entrepreneurs, unique skills and above all a heritage that no international competitor can completely copy:

Italy.

This is why the message to the supply chain should change.

Not:

“There’s too much wine. Who’s going to buy it?”

But:

“We have one of the most distinctive and socially significant Made in Italy products. How can we make the world—and especially the younger generations—fall in love with Italian wine again?”

This question can be the starting point for something much more important than a promotional campaign.

A new Renaissance of Italian wine can begin.

A Renaissance in which producers, winemakers, young people, restaurateurs, regions, tourism, institutions, distribution, and consumers once again feel part of the same story.

Because a bottle can remain still in a warehouse for years.

An emotion, however, travels.

And perhaps this is where we need to start again.

Wine Trends in Italy – Week 10-14 August 2026

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Italian wine is seeking a new balance: too many inventories, declining exports, and lower production. But wine tourism continues to grow: 42.6 million hectoliters of wine remain in Italian cellars, exports down 6.9% in the first five months of 2026, reduced yields in numerous appellations, and a harvest that arrives while the market struggles to absorb production.

Wine tourism, which now involves approximately 18 million Italians, bucks the trend.

This week’s message is clear: the wine sector must produce more in line with demand and shift its focus from volumes to value creation.

This week’s figure: 42.6 million hectoliters still in the cellar

The most important photograph comes from Cantina Italia , the ICQRF bulletin processed through the electronic registers.

As of July 31, 2026, there were 42.6 million hectolitres of wine in Italian wineries, to which were added approximately 3.1 million hectolitres of must and over 42,000 hectolitres of new wine still fermenting.

The most significant figure is the comparison with a year earlier: wine stocks are 6.9% higher than on 31 July 2025 .

This data was also confirmed by the findings published this week based on the latest ICQRF report.

Compared to June, the situation has improved, with a monthly reduction in inventories of 8.6%, but the annual comparison remains the real alarm bell.

In other words, cellars are emptying, but not fast enough .

And this is happening just as the 2026 harvest is gradually getting into full swing.

Where is the wine found?

55.9% of the stocks are concentrated in the Northern regions , with Veneto in a predominant position.

The composition of the stocks also shows the weight of certified productions:

55.4% DOP wines
25.8% PGI wines
1.7% varietal wines
17.1% other wines

Even more significant is the level of concentration: just 20 denominations out of the 523 registered represent 57.6% of the total stock of wines with Geographical Indication .

Prosecco DOC alone represents approximately 9.4% of stocks , with 3.2 million hectolitres.

They are followed by IGP Toscana and Puglia, Chianti DOCG, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Terre Siciliane IGP, Sicilia DOC, Salento IGP, Veneto IGP and Delle Venezie DOC.

The problem isn’t having wine in the cellar. It’s how quickly it goes.

Inventories, taken in isolation, do not necessarily indicate a crisis.

The problem arises when production, sales and inventory turnover rate are no longer balanced .

And this is precisely the point that the sector will have to question itself on in the coming months.

Exports: nearly 3 billion euros, but 2026 remains negative

The second signal comes from international markets.

In the first five months of 2026, Italy exported wine worth approximately 2.98 billion euros , registering a contraction of 6.86% compared to the same period in 2025 .

Volumes also decreased: 809.1 million litres , approximately 5% less than in the first five months of last year.

The issue becomes particularly delicate when looking at the three main Italian wine markets.

United States

They remain the first international market, with approximately 709 million euros , but the value of exports records a heavy:

-15.4%.

Volumes fall by 6%.

This means that we are not only losing bottles sold: the average value generated by the American market is also decreasing .

Germany

Second largest market in the world for Italian wine:

439.1 million euros , with a decrease of 8.2% .

Volumes decreased by 9.3%.

United Kingdom

Exports reached 278.5 million euros , down 6.5% , while volumes fell by 6.6%.

Not all markets, however, are going in the same direction.

Interesting signals are coming from:

China 18%

Brazil 15.2%

Russia 17.4%

while Canada remains essentially stable.

The message for wineries: diversification becomes essential

For many years, a significant portion of Italian exports relied on a few large markets.

2026 is showing how risky this addiction can become.

The United States will continue to be key, as will Germany and the United Kingdom.

But an international strategy built on three or four markets is no longer sufficient .

Asia, Latin America, Canada and other emerging markets must gradually enter companies’ business planning.

Not to replace the United States, but to reduce dependence on a single market .

2026 Harvest: Italy Begins to Produce Less

With cellars still full of product, several areas have chosen to intervene before the arrival of the new harvest.

Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Marche and Abruzzo, together with numerous Consortia, are adopting or evaluating yield reductions, storage and other forms of production containment .

The initiatives concern important denominations, from the Chianti system to Valpolicella, from Soave to the Piedmontese denominations up to the territories of Abruzzo and Marche.

The logic is simple:

If demand slows, continuing to increase supply risks further compressing prices and margins.

For years, a part of the sector has thought mainly in terms of production.

Today we need to reverse the reasoning:

We must not only ask ourselves how much we can produce, but how much the market is willing to buy and at what price.

The Puglia case: 5 million unsold hectoliters

The most delicate situation probably emerges from Puglia.

According to data reported by CIA Puglia based on Cantina Italia, there are at least 5 million hectolitres of unsold wine in regional cellars.

Even more significant: over 3 million hectolitres belong to the IGP and DOP categories .

We are therefore not faced with a problem limited to generic wines.

The pressure also affects production linked to denominations and territorial identity.

The excess availability is impacting the prices of grapes and wine, with consequences for the profitability of winemakers and wineries.

Among the proposals put forward, the following stand out:

Targeted crisis distillation, varietal reconversion, voluntary uprooting of less profitable vineyards, greater aggregation of supply, investments in irrigation, internationalization, and greater valorization of native grape varieties.

The Apulian case probably anticipates a theme destined to become national:

produce less where the market no longer absorbs and invest more where there is demand.

We need a national supply policy

The debate is now also reaching a political level.

Among the hypotheses put forward is that of managing new plant authorizations differently, favoring territories and denominations that demonstrate concrete growth potential.

At the same time, a more effective management of abandoned vineyards is proposed, encouraging their acquisition, uprooting, or reconversion.

This is a major change.

Because it means moving from a predominantly agricultural policy to a true industrial wine policy .

The vineyard area should not grow automatically.

It should grow where there is a market, positioning and economic prospects.

Not all vineyards create the same value

Another piece of news this week helps us understand how important it is to go beyond simple volume thinking.

The ranking drawn up by the American Association of Wine Economists , based on FADN-FSDN data from the European Commission for 2024, analyses the net added value generated per hectare of vineyard .

Champagne-Ardenne dominates with around 60,000 euros per hectare .

But immediately behind we find two Italian territories:

South Tyrol – approximately €32,100/ha

Aosta Valley – approximately €32,000/ha

Burgundy, Liguria, Luxembourg, Galicia and Piedmont follow.

The interesting aspect is not only the ranking.

It is the economic principle that emerges.

A hectare of vineyard is not only worth what it produces.

It’s about how much value it can generate.

Then the following come into play:

price of wine;
identity of the denomination;
positioning;
production costs;
commercial capacity;
direct sales;
hospitality;
farmhouse;
notoriety of the territory.

It is also an important indication for those evaluating acquisitions of wineries and vineyards .

The real estate value of the land and the economic capacity of the company are two different things.

The great countertrend: wine tourism continues to grow

While consumption and exports are slowing, a wine-related sector continues to grow.

Wine tourism.

In 2026, it is estimated that around 18 million Italians will be involved in wine-related experiences , approximately 4.5 million more than in 2024 .

This data is confirmed by the report edited by Roberta Garibaldi: the growth concerns not only the number of visitors, but also the way the winery is experienced.

Wine tastings increased from 49% to 64% , while visits to wineries increased from 32% to 46% .

But perhaps the most interesting fact concerns what the visitor is looking for.

In 2026, the family-run winery becomes one of the most sought-after experiences.

The tourist wants to know who produces the wine.

He wants to hear a story.

He wants to see the vineyard.

He wants to understand the territory.

And he often wants to eat, stay and shop directly.

Wine is increasingly sold through experience

This could be one of the most important changes for the industry.

On average, consumers drink less wine, but seem to be willing to spend to experience wine .

The cellar is therefore no longer just a production site.

It can become simultaneously:

place of production, tourist destination, point of sale, restaurant, accommodation facility, cultural space and brand communication tool.

Food and wine tourism in the summer of 2026 will involve a total of around 25 million Italians , confirming how food, wine and the region are now an integral part of travel choices.

The Italian wine giants: 27 wineries earning over €100 million. The sector is accelerating toward concentration, exports, and mergers.

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Riunite & Civ leads the ranking ahead of Argea, Italian Wine Brands, Caviro, and Antinori. In 2024, 27 Italian wineries will have revenues exceeding €100 million, and 14 will exceed €200 million.

But the most interesting fact goes beyond the rankings: a few large operators now concentrate a significant share of the business and almost half of Italian wine exports.
Italian wine continues to be a universe composed of thousands of wineries, farms, families, territories, and appellations. At the highest end of the market, however, a different reality is emerging: the economic and commercial scale of Italy’s major winemaking groups continues to grow, and the process of concentration is becoming increasingly evident .

In 2024 , 27 Italian wine companies exceeded 100 million euros in turnover and 14 surpassed the 200 million threshold .

The numbers emerge from the analysis of the balance sheets of the main Italian wine companies carried out by journalist Anna Di Martino and previewed by Corriere della Sera .

A photograph that does not only serve to establish who sells the most.

Above all, it allows us to understand how the economic structure of Italian wine is changing and which models today seem to have the necessary strength to compete on international markets.

Cooperatives, family businesses, listed companies and large private groups follow different strategies, but they share some factors: commercial size, exports, brand strength, distribution, financial capacity and organisation .

The 5 largest Italian wineries by turnover

Cantine Riunite & Civ remains at the top of the ranking, reaching a turnover of 676.6 million euros in 2024, compared to 670.6 million the previous year.

Within the group, Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV) alone represents 428 million euros in revenues .

The weight of international markets is particularly significant: Riunite & Civ records 478.4 million euros in exports , over 70% of turnover, while for GIV the incidence of foreign markets is almost 79%.

1. Cantine Riunite & Civ – €676.6 million

It is the largest Italian operator in the ranking and represents one of the most important examples of the cooperative system’s ability to reach industrial and international dimensions.

2. Argea – 464.2 million

Argea reaches 464.2 million euros , up 3.27% compared to 449.5 million in 2023.

The group has a very strong international vocation: 418.1 million comes from exports , over 90% of the turnover.

The profitability indicated in the analysis is also important: EBITDA of 74.5 million euros , higher than 16% of revenues.

3. Italian Wine Brands – 401.9 million

Italian Wine Brands ranks third with 401.9 million euros , down 6.34% compared to the 429.1 million of the previous year.

Here too, internationalization represents a determining factor: exports are worth 328.2 million , over 81% of revenues.

4. Caviro Group – 385.2 million

Caviro Group reaches 385.2 million euros in turnover .

The result is lower than the 423.1 million of 2023, but the group retains an industrial scale that keeps it firmly among the main players in the Italian wine sector.

5. Marchesi Antinori – approximately 262 million

The fifth position introduces a completely different model.

Marchesi Antinori , the first large private family-owned company in the ranking, achieved a turnover of approximately 262 million euros , compared to 245 million the previous year.

Growth is close to 7%, but the figure that stands out most is the one relating to profitability.

The EBITDA reported in the analysis exceeds 139 million euros , with an incidence of over 53% .

Added to this is a 3,350-hectare estate of owned vineyards .

The 14 Italian wineries above 200 million euros

The upper end of the market is not limited to the top five operators.

In 2024, in fact, there will be 14 groups that will exceed 200 million euros in turnover :

Cantine Riunite & Civ – 676.6 million
Argea – 464.2 million
Italian Wine Brands – 401.9 million
Caviro Group – 385.2 million
Marchesi Antinori – approximately 262 million
Cavit – 253.3 million
La Marca Wines and Sparkling Wines – 251 million
Herita Marzotto Wine Estates – $248.2 million
Martini Brothers – 233 million
Collis Veneto Wine Group – 219.3 million
Mezzacorona Group – 212.4 million
Zonin Group 1821 – 209.3 million
Cevico Lands – 206.2 million
Mack & Schuhle Italy – 205.6 million

Among the most interesting dynamics is that of Mack & Schuhle Italia , which went from 172.4 to 205.6 million euros, with a growth of 19.25% .

From Mionetto to Frescobaldi: the second group of big names

Just below the 200 million threshold we find companies and brands of great national and international importance.

Mionetto reaches 180.9 million euros , growing by 17.87% compared to 153.5 million in 2023. Almost 82% of revenues come from exports.

The following are:

Piccini Estates – 179 million
Vi.VO Cantine Group – 178.2 million
Marchesi Frescobaldi – 165 million
Conegliano Vittorio Veneto Winery – 149.8 million
Ermes Wineries – 142.7 million
Lunelli Group – 138.5 million
Schenk Italian Wineries – 134.3 million
Villa Sandi – 132 million
Cadis 1898 – 129.1 million
Veneto-Friulian winemakers – 109.5 million
Serena Wines – $106.3 million
Ruffino Group – 105 million.

The case of Marchesi Frescobaldi is particularly significant: 165 million in revenues and an EBITDA indicated at 64.3 million , almost 39% of the turnover, accompanied by approximately 1,700 hectares of owned vineyards .

The Conegliano Vittorio Veneto Winery’s boom: 54.4%

One of the most interesting findings in the ranking comes from the heart of the Prosecco region.

The Conegliano Vittorio Veneto winery will in fact go from 97 million in 2023 to 149.8 million euros in 2024 , recording an increase indicated at 54.4% .

This is a particularly significant result considering the economic importance of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene area and, more generally, the Prosecco system within the Italian wine industry.

Wine cooperatives are getting bigger and bigger

The ranking highlights another phenomenon that deserves attention: the growing economic strength of Italian wine cooperatives .

Among the 27 companies above 100 million euros there are 12 cooperatives , one more than the previous year.

Overall, they generate a turnover of approximately 2.9 billion euros and exports of 1.5 billion .

The cooperative model therefore demonstrates that it can perform a function that will probably become even more important in the coming years: aggregating production without necessarily erasing the widespread structure of the Italian vineyard .

Its size allows it to build commercial networks, support investments, organize exports, and address markets that are difficult for a single producer to reach.

27 companies represent 41% of the Italian wine market

This is probably the number that best captures the transformation underway.

The 27 largest companies together generate revenues of over 6 billion euros .

The value is equivalent to approximately 41% of an Italian wine market estimated at 14.5 billion euros in 2024 .

The concentration becomes even more evident when looking at exports.

The 27 operators generate approximately 3.8 billion euros in exports , equal to 47.5% of the 8.1 billion euros of Italian wine exports .

In essence, just over two dozen companies represent almost half of the Italian wine sold on international markets .

Turnover and value of a winery are not the same thing

However, the ranking presents an interpretative risk.

Being bigger does not necessarily mean being more profitable and, above all, turnover and company value do not coincide .

The data show very significant differences.

Antinori’s EBITDA margin exceeds 53% of the figures reported in the survey, Frescobaldi’s margin is close to 39%, and Herita Marzotto Wine Estates’ margin exceeds 32%, while other large operators show lower margins.

To understand how much a winery is really worth, you need to look at many elements simultaneously:

Brand, denominations, owned vineyards, margins, product mix, distribution, exports, real estate, production capacity, direct sales, hospitality, wine tourism, and commercial positioning.

Two wineries with the same turnover can have profoundly different economic values.

Export: for large groups the market is now global

The ranking also highlights how much the major Italian operators now depend on international markets.

Ruffino generates more than 93% of its turnover abroad.

Argea exceeds 90%.

The Brand is approaching 88%.

Mack & Schuhle Italia and Zonin are around 85%.

Italian Wine Brands exceeds 81%.

For a significant portion of Italy’s leading companies, therefore, simply speaking of the “Italian wine market” becomes almost reductive.

The real competition is played simultaneously in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Northern Europe, Asia and other international markets .

Does Italian wine need to get bigger?

This is the strategic question that emerges from the numbers.

Italy has an extremely fragmented production structure.

It is one of its greatest strengths because it represents territories, biodiversity, denominations, families, grape varieties, traditions, and thousands of different identities.

But this same fragmentation can turn into a weakness when it is necessary to invest millions of euros in international distribution, brands, commercial networks, digitalisation, wine tourism, technology and exports .

The solution, however, is not necessarily to sell all the companies or create a few giant groups.

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