Wine, an Italian excellence amid competitiveness and global challenges

In 2024, Italy regained its top ranking in world wine production: with 44 million hectolitres produced, it recovered from the 2023 fall in production, caused by extreme weather events that fuelled the spread of Peronospora.

The 2024 harvest showed a good recovery, recording +15%, even though this was below the 6% average compared to the previous 5 years¹.
 

ITALIAN WINE EXPORTS: GROWTH, VALUE AND LEADING DISTRICTS
 

In terms of exports, Italy ranks second in the world with a market share in terms of value of 22%; France ranked first with a market share of 34.5%; in terms of quantity, on the other hand, Italy weighs in at 21.7% and is barely surpassed by Spain at 22%².
2024 ended with EUR 8.1 billion in Italian wine exports, namely, +5.5% compared to 2023³ .

The trend in exports was also positive for the Italian wine districts which grew by 4% overall; specifically, the Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene, the Vini dei Colli Fiorentini and Senesi and Vini del Veronese, all recorded growth rates between 7 and 10%⁴.
 

NATIVE VINE VARIETIES AND CERTIFICATIONS: ITALIAN WINE'S LEADERSHIP
 

But it is especially in terms of biodiversity that Italy stands out as leader. According to a study by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), 75% of the national vineyards are covered by 80 native varieties; Portugal follows with 40 varieties, while France and Spain reach 15⁵. This biodiversity translates into another advantage for Italy, which is the European country with the highest number of PDO/PGI certifications at 528, whereas France has only 442⁶.
 

KEY POINTS: FRAGMENTATION AND DIFFICULTIES IN CREATING A SYSTEM
 

Many strengths characterize Italian wine, though there are also some aspects that deserve attention including, first and foremost, fragmentation: Italian wine producers are smaller than their international competitors; 35% of Italian wine-growers extend over less than 5 hectares, whereas in France these account for only 7%⁷, and this makes it more difficult to create a system.
 

THREATS TO WINE INDUSTRY: DECREASING CONSUMPTION, TARIFFS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
 

In addition, there are some threats:

• competition from major international competitors
• decreasing consumption, which requires intercepting or stimulating new consumer groups
• the question of tariffs, with the wine supply chain being among the most exposed to the American market, with about a quarter of exports going overseas.
• and finally, climate change which influences the geography of wine-production that moves towards the northern countries, while the southern regions are increasingly at risk of desertification.

THE FUTURE OF THE ITALIAN WINE SECTOR BETWEEN INNOVATION AND EXPORTS
 

Investing in innovation can be a strategic move, focusing on the selection of more resistant grape varieties and leveraging the opportunities offered by digitalization and robotics. In fact, the use of drones, sensors, and vision systems can help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Further opportunities may come from foreign markets, where Italian wine is already highly appreciated but still has room for growth. For example, in China, where French products currently dominate.

Crucial in this regard is the ability to ‘work as a system’ to promote the high quality of Italian wine.
 

NOTES

1 OIV - State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2024 – April 2025

2 CEPII-BACI, 2023

3 Istat - https://www.coeweb.istat.it/areatematica/classe_1102_vini.pdf - December 2024

4 Monitor dei distretti Agroalimentari – Research Department Intesa Sanpaolo – April 2025

5 OIV - Distribution of the world’s grapevine varieties – Focus 2017

6 Qualigeo – Fondazione Qualivita -  https://www.qualigeo.eu/ - April 2025

7 Eurostat – Structure of orchards and vineyards – Wine-grower holdings by size class, 2020