The China Mail - Wine consumption slides in 2025

The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said in its annual review that the industry was confronted in 2025 by "a combination of climatic variability, softer demand and rising trade uncertainty".

It found consumption slid by 2.7 percent last year to 208 million hectolitres, taking the cumulative drop since 2018 to 14 percent.

"This evolution reflects the interaction between longer-term changes in consumption patterns and a more difficult economic environment in recent years," said the OIV.

"Evolving lifestyle preferences, shifting social habits and generational changes continue to influence consumer behaviour" in several mature wine markets, it added.

The OIV also noted that the wine industry "has faced a succession of external pressures since 2020, including the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions and inflationary pressures, all of which have weighed on purchasing power and consumer confidence".

It noted nine of the world's top 10 wine markets recorded lower volumes, and said three markets played an outsized role in the global decline: China, France and the United States.

In the United States, the world's leading wine market, consumption fell 4.3 percent last year which the OIV put down to reduced purchasing power, a reduction in alcohol consumption among younger consumers and a wider selection of alcoholic beverages.

The impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump is still difficult to isolate among all of those factors, OIV's director John Barker told AFP.

In France, Europe's biggest wine market, consumption fell 3.2 percent.

In China, wine consumption fell by 13 percent last year and by 61 percent since 2020. The OIV said wine demand was particularly sensitive to income and price developments in the country.

Meanwhile wine production rose 0.6 percent to 227 million hectolitres in 2025, but the OIV noted this was from a historically low level in 2024.

It said the third consecutive year of low global output reflected the "combined effect of climatic volatility and production adjustments linked to softer demand conditions".

Given the current market conditions it said below-average production levels were not expected to lead to widespread supply shortages but a reduction in stocks.

"Demand-side adjustment remains one of the main challenges for the sector," said the OIV.

S.Wilson--ThChM