Italy was set to hold on to its lead over France as biggest producer in 2025, amid concerns about the impact of US tariffs on sales.
Italy is expected to enjoy a good 2025 harvest and clinch the world’s leading producer label once again, according to estimates presented on Wednesday by Italy’s agriculture ministry and its wine union.
Italian winegrowers were expected to produce 47 million hectolitres of wine and grape must; an increase of 8 percent compared to 2024, and a return to the average of previous years.
Italy has taken the top spot for the past five years, apart from in 2023 – a difficult year in which production fell to the lowest ever in the post-war period due to extreme weather and fungal diseases.
Production was expected to be particularly high in southern Italy, up 19 percent.
This was mainly in Sicily and Puglia, where heavy spring rains replenished groundwater reserves and helped crops withstand an early and hot summer.
The northeast had a more difficult year with changeable weather and disease. Veneto, the peninsula’s leading wine-producing region, remained at average production levels.
“It is a balanced vintage, without any extraordinary peaks in production, but with interesting prospects in terms of quality, ranging almost everywhere from good to excellent,” the Italian Wine Union and the Association of Italian Oenologists said in a report.
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Overall, Italy was set to retain lead over France, the world’s second largest producer, and expected to produce 37.4 million hectolitres. France’s production was particularly affected by hot weather in August.
Spain was expected to be in third place, at 36.8 million hectolitres.
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Export demand slowed by 4 percent in the first five months of 2025, while demand also slowed in Italy, with the exception of sparkling wines.
The wine industry has been particularly concerned about the impact of US tariffs.
“We are facing difficulties that affect not only Italy but all producing countries,” the president of the Wine Union, Lamberto Frescobaldi, said in a statement.
“The quality of our wine is indisputable, but even good wine, if there is too much of it, causes the sector to lose value.
“Under current market conditions, it will be difficult to guarantee fair remuneration for the sector with a harvest of 47.4 million hectolitres, to which will likely be added around 37 million hectolitres of wine in cellars,” Frescobaldi added.