Asti sparkling wine suffers from US and Russian tariffs but is now booming in China: +55%

'The Asian figure is very positive,' adds President Ricagno. 'In China we went from one million to two million bottles in one year. In South Korea we have sold four to five million. Asia is nothing new, but there is an acceleration. Progress that does not completely compensate us for the losses, but it is a road on which we can work as companies and as a denomination'.

But is the fashion for sweet wines gaining ground in Asian countries? 'Yes, but not as we conceive them in Italia,' adds President Ricagno, 'We continue to imagine sweet wines only with dessert, with Panettone, while elsewhere a different logic is emerging. In Asia, a consumption style is emerging that is closer to that of the USA, where sweet wines are consumed throughout the meal. And the growth in Asia is linked to the same pattern, they go well with the cuisines of those countries and are consumed with all courses. Paradoxically, a suggestion comes from non-EU countries: we Europeans should also begin to consume these wines, moreover with a low alcohol content, with a wider range of courses than just desserts'.

"Net of the fall in the USA (which despite the 7.6% drop still absorbs 58% of Muscat exports)," explained Consortium Director Giacomo Pondini, "Moscato would have closed the year in the black thanks to the resilience of the European market (-0.6%) and the exploit of China.

The scenario for Asti Spumante, on the other hand, is more complicated, with the gap weighed down mainly in Europe (-14%, -4.2 million bottles sold over 2024) and the USA (-50%, -2.6 million bottles) before that in Russia, where it limited the drop to -3%, with 14.1 million bottles sold.

Also turning their backs on Asti Spumante are some key destinations in Europe such as Great Britain (-13%), Germany (-49%) and Poland (-26%), while in the East, Hungary and Lithuania are showing good growth.

Fortunately, even for Asti Spumante, a 'bail-out' came from the Asian markets (overall +20% with 3.3 million bottles sold) thanks above all to Japan, the Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and China, while in the Americas the positive trend continues in Mexico, which exceeds one million bottles sold followed, at 750 thousand pieces, by Peru, which increases its demand for Asti bubbles by a third.