Still wine consumption falls 4% across 21 major markets as Prosecco gains

Still wine underperforms the broader market

Still wine consumption declined 4% year on year during the first half of 2026 across the 21 major markets monitored by IWSR. These countries represent 76% of worldwide alcoholic beverage consumption. Total alcohol volumes in the group fell 1% from the same period of 2025, but increased 1% when the United States and China were excluded.¹

The contraction in the overall alcohol market moderated from a year earlier: volumes across the tracked markets had fallen 2% in the first half of 2025 compared with the corresponding period of 2024. The smaller 1% decline in 2026 therefore indicates that the market remained in contraction but was improving overall.¹

United States and China drive the weakness

In the United States, total alcoholic beverage consumption fell 4% between January and June 2026. Still wine declined 6%, while beer and ready-to-drink products each lost 4%. IWSR associated the weakness with economic uncertainty, inflation and the effect of tariffs on household purchasing power.¹

China’s total alcohol market contracted 3%, with still wine down 9% and domestic spirits down 12%. IWSR cited slower economic growth, difficulties in the property sector and an aging population as pressures on demand. It also identified a wider shift toward moderation in alcohol consumption across markets and categories.¹

Prosecco and alternative categories expand

Prosecco consumption rose 3% across the surveyed markets, contrasting with the downturn in still wine. Nonalcoholic beer increased 8%, while Indian whisky gained 4%, suggesting greater resilience among products serving different occasions, lower-alcohol preferences or alternative formats.¹

Growth in Prosecco consumption did not produce equivalent export growth. Italy’s statistics agency, Istat, reported that Prosecco DOP export volumes fell 0.3% in the first half of 2026. The difference indicates that stronger retail or on-premise consumption across the markets did not translate uniformly into Italian export shipments.¹

Growth varies sharply by country and category

India recorded a 10% increase in total alcoholic beverage volumes during the first six months of 2026. Traditional beer rose 16%, ready-to-drink beverages 12% and Indian whisky 4%. Total volumes also increased by 9% in Colombia, 5% in South Africa and 3% in Brazil, where beer and ready-to-drink products supplied most of the momentum. The United Kingdom grew 2%, supported by traditional beer, alcohol-free alternatives and ready-to-drink beverages.¹

South Africa was among the few markets where still wine itself grew, recording a 3% increase. By contrast, broader alcohol growth in India, Brazil and Colombia did not necessarily represent rising wine demand, underscoring that expansion in a country’s overall beverage market may offer limited immediate support to still wine.¹

Seven of the 21 markets achieved volume growth: Brazil, Mexico, India, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Colombia and Thailand. Declines became less severe than a year earlier in six other markets, including Italy, France and Germany, while conditions deteriorated in China, Russia, Canada, the Philippines and the Netherlands.¹

An increasingly uneven global market

The results reveal growing divergence between countries and drink categories. Traditional beer and still wine remained weak in several major markets, while sparkling wine, nonalcoholic products, ready-to-drink beverages and certain local spirits found areas of growth. This uneven performance increases the importance of country- and category-specific decisions on sales, investment, marketing and exports.¹

The still wine decline carries particular weight for exporters because the United States remains a leading destination for many producers and China remains a difficult but closely monitored Asian market. At the same time, gains for Prosecco, nonalcoholic beer and some local spirits indicate changing drinking occasions, as consumers switch formats or reduce their intake rather than maintaining previous purchasing patterns.¹