Italian sparkling wines one step closer to 1 billion quota

A third of the sparkling wine produced in Italy will go abroad for the holidays. We will uncork about 95 million bottles in Italy, with the low-cost segment on the rise.

Italian sparkling wines will have to wait at least 12 months to cross the psychological threshold of one billion bottles, but final estimates for 2023 confirm a substantial hold on consumption of made-in-Italy bubbles, at 936 million bottles. In line with last year's volumes - but at +24 percent compared to 2019 - purchases for the upcoming holidays are also announced, during which about 333 million tricolor corks will jump around the world, with more than 95 million bottles consumed in the Belpaese alone. The Christmas and New Year celebrations will then be joined by foreign sparkling wines, with about 6 million bottles.

Non-PDO sparkling wine growth

According to the usual end-of-year analysis of sparkling wine consumption by the Uiv-ISMEA Observatory during the holidays, consumers around the world will therefore not be willing to give up tricolor bubbles. What is changing is, as found since the beginning of the year, the choice of a product that in some cases is more affordable for the pockets of Italian and foreign consumers grappling with an expensive lifestyle that does not loosen its grip. Hence, according to elaborations on Nielsen data, ISMEA and Uiv record an increase in purchases of cheaper sparkling wines such as charmat method including varietal and vintage (+7.5 percent to 206 million bottles the estimate through 2023) compared to Italian "flagship" appellations such as Prosecco (Doc, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Docg, Asolo Docg) and Asti Spumante or to the classic methods (TrentoDoc, Franciacorta, Oltrepò Pavese, Alta Langa, Lessini Durello), which close the season with a 3% contraction (727 million pieces). With a supply basket adjusted therefore thanks to the increase in non-PDO sparkling wine production, the total tally forecast by ISMEA and the Italian Wine Union (UIV) at the end of 2023 is 936 million bottles of Italian sparkling wine, in 7 out of 10 cases marketed abroad.Sotto l’albero le bollicine si presentano quest’anno con un prezzo medio più alto, con i listini cresciuti di oltre il 5% a causa di inflazione e surplus di costi produttivi. In totale produttori e imprese spumantistiche italiane incasseranno durante le festività circa 1 miliardo di euro. Negli ultimi 10 anni le vendite di spumante italiano nel mondo sono praticamente triplicate, con crescite in valore del 351% negli Usa (top buyer), ma anche in altre destinazioni di sbocco come Regno Unito (+350%), Germania, (+42%), Francia (+416%) o nell’emergente Est Europa, con la Polonia a +983%.

Italy export to September 2023

Exports in the first 9 months of this year, processed by the Uiv-Ismea Observatory and based on Istat data released on December 12, show a trend decline of 3.1% for sparkling wines, which in value, due to inflationary effects, turn positive instead (+2.5%). Overall, exports to the third quarter of 2023 stand at -0.2 percent in volumes, while the balance on values indicates a decrease, worsening, of 1.9 percent (5.65 billion euros).

PDOs are in trouble (volumes at -3.8%), while sales of bulk are going up (+18.9% volume), which, following the drop in producer prices, have lowered the average value by about 14%. Among the top markets, difficulties continued in the United States (volumes at -12.8%, values at -9.5%), while Germany closed the period at +12.4% in volumes thanks to maxi-orders of bulk wine. Stationary in the United Kingdom and slightly contracting in Switzerland. Overall, the gap between EU (volumes at +9.3%) and non-EU (-9.2%) demand widens.

The analysis of the Uiv-Ismea Observatory was compiled on the basis of cross-references of multiple sources, starting with Istat and certification bodies.