At Vinitaly USA, Italian wineries are on the hunt for new consumers
Following signs of a recovery in exports over the summer, Veronafiere and ITA Trade Agency are taking 300 companies to New York: a versatile range featuring premium labels for restaurants and products also suitable for mixology
Key points
After around a year of declining exports to the United States – largely due to President Trump’s tariffs – there has finally been a turnaround. The summer quarter saw a strong rebound in Italian wine shipments to the US. So, after a year of stagnation, there was a 17 per cent surge between July, August and September. This turnaround has reduced the year-to-date decline in export value from -14 per cent in June to -6 per cent in September.
A rebound or a restocking effect?
Much of this result is due to the depletion of stockpiles that US buyers had built up prior to the introduction of tariffs in August 2025, but that is not the only factor. An integral part of this rebound in sales of Italian wine in the US is due to the recovery in average prices (+9.5 per cent) as well as the sharp increase in sales of red wines, which many considered to be struggling and which, in the United States, recovered 33 per cent of their turnover during the summer quarter, partly thanks to a 15 per cent rise in the average price.
The world’s number one must-visit market
Something is therefore happening in the world’s leading wine market, where Italia is the leading supplier by volume and the second-largest by value, behind France. And it is to consolidate this recovery and revitalise the image of Italian wine that Vinitaly USA kicks off on 26 and 27 October in New York. The leading Italian wine event in the United States, organised by Veronafiere in collaboration with ITA – Italian Trade Agency, will bring 300 Italian wineries, showcasing around 2,500 wines, to the Big Apple to meet over a thousand buyers from 35 countries.
Untapped potential
According to the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, there are 35 million consumers of Italian wine overseas; whilst this figure places the US at the top of the list of importing countries, it also demonstrates that there is still ample room for growth. The analysis shows that there are, in fact, almost 90 million regular wine drinkers in the US; therefore, Italian wine has a potential market of over 50 million wine lovers yet to be won over.
“Italian wine,” explain the Vinitaly-Uiv Observatory, “must increasingly segment its target markets by age group, ethnicity and geographical location of demand. It holds a competitive advantage in terms of greater market penetration amongst younger age groups compared with local producers. In fact, whilst Californian wines show a strong concentration amongst older age groups (over 70 per cent of volumes are attributable to the over-55s), Italian wines exhibit a more balanced distribution across the different generations, with a greater ability to penetrate the market even amongst younger consumers.”
