Lugana is bucking the trend: it’s going strong in restaurants and sales are surging in supermarkets
With 70 per cent consumed outside the home, Garda white wine continues to grow in popularity and is also gaining ground in supermarkets: sales have risen by 18 per cent over the past year
Key points
For years now, it has been a ‘maverick’ label in the Italian wine sector, capable of outperforming the average when the market is buoyant, and capable not only of holding its own but also of growing stronger in difficult times.
This is the figure for Lugana, a DOC white wine from Lake Garda that has been at the top of the wholesale price rankings for white wines for years, as it commands prices well above the average. A wine that is confirming its market position even in this challenging year of 2026, characterised, in general, by production surpluses that are putting downward pressure on prices.
The power of restaurants...
Lugana owes its strength to two factors in particular. On the one hand, its versatility, which makes it suitable both as an aperitif and between meals, as well as an excellent accompaniment to food and the dining table. And, on the other hand, its market positioning, which is characterised by two main channels: large-scale retail, accounting for 30 per cent of sales, but, above all, the 70 per cent of sales in the HoReCa sector, which confirms its suitability for the catering and out-of-home sectors. This breakdown of distribution channels helps to maximise the product’s potential.
Over the years, production has grown from 20 million bottles ten years ago to 27.5 million today (produced by 220 winegrowers and wineries operating across 2,750 hectares of vineyards).
...and the rush to the shops
“Our entry into the large-scale retail sector,” explains Fabio Zenato, president of the Lugana DOC Consortium, “gained momentum during the Covid period when restaurants were closed. Growth has been strong: sales have risen by 25 per cent in two years. We are convinced that we are among the few wines to have benefited from a joint and successful effort by the various distribution channels: the hospitality sector introduced our wine to consumers, who then sought it out and found it on the shelves of large-scale retailers.”
