German exporters believe they can benefit from rising demand for white wine amid challenges in key export markets.
In 2025, export volumes increased 1% year-on-year to 1.2 million hectolitres but revenue fell 2% to €377m ($434.1m), according to figures from the German Wine Institute (DWI).
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In a statement, the DWI said Germany’s wine exports were “substantially impacted by a significant drop in shipments to the United States”, traditionally the country’s top export market.
Exports to the US fell 11% last year to 118,000 hectolitres, which the DWI linked to the country’s “punitive tariffs”.
German exporters lowered selling prices, with the average ex-cellar price down €0.41 to €4.43 per litre. As a result, export value to the US dropped 19% to €51m.
Nevertheless, German Wine Institute marketing director Steffen Schindler sought to emphasise an opportunity for the country’s exporters. “We are currently benefiting from the global trend toward increased consumption of white and lighter wines. With two-thirds of vineyard area planted with white varieties, German producers are well positioned,” he said.
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By GlobalData“Producers are also increasingly active in export markets to compensate for declining sales in the domestic market.”
With the US market more volatile, German wine exporters are looking to build their presence in other markets. Scandinavia, Poland and China in particular “developed positively” in 2025, according to the DWI.
The combined shipments to Norway, Sweden and Finland totalled 211,000 hectolitres and were valued at €71m, placing the Scandinavian markets “well ahead” of the US in both volume and value.
Shipments to Norway, Germany’s second-largest export market, rose 4% volume with value sales “stable”.
Sweden also showed gains despite a 4% decline in national wine consumption, the DWI said. Germany’s exports to Sweden rose 32% in volume and 44% in value.
In China, imports of German wine rose to a record 50,000 hectolitres, bucking broader consumption declines, the institute added.
US tariffs also dented Italy’s wine exports, according to figures released last week.
Italy’s wine export sales reached €7.78bn last year, down 3.7% from 2024, according to findings from the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) Observatory, using data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT). Volumes slipped 1.9% to 21 million hectolitres.
Italian wine exports to the US shrank 9.2% in value terms to €1.76bn, losing €178m and driving nearly 60% of the overall deficit, according to the UIV’s analysis.
