U.S. Wine Imports Fall Sharply in Early 2026
Tariffs and market uncertainty drive a 32.1% drop in value, with Spanish sparkling wine sales hit especially hard
2026-05-18
The year began with a sharp decline in international wine sales to the United States, as imports fell 32.1% in dollar terms and 20.6% in volume in the first three months of 2026, according to U.S. Department of Commerce figures analyzed by Del Rey AWM.
The drop took the value of wine imports from $1.84 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $1.249 billion in the same period this year. Analysts said the decline appears tied to new tariffs, uncertainty in the market and shifts in consumption and inventory levels.
The weakness has affected nearly all major wine suppliers to the American market, with New Zealand standing out as an exception in still wines. Spain has fared somewhat better than some competitors in non-sparkling wines, but its sparkling wine exports have been hit harder.
Spanish sparkling wine sales to the United States fell 50.1% in dollar terms and 49.4% in bottles in the first quarter, a steeper decline than those recorded by France and Italy. Spanish sparkling wine exports fell from $25.2 million in the first quarter of 2025 to $12.6 million this year, while shipments dropped from 8.1 million bottles to a little more than 4 million.
Across all sparkling wines imported by the United States, sales fell 28% in dollars and 22.5% in bottles, compared with declines of 34.6% and 19.7% for packaged still wines. The U.S. imported 38 million liters of sparkling wine worth $307 million in the quarter, at an average declared price of $8.08 per liter.
France’s sparkling wine exports to the United States declined 26.7% in dollars and 6.7% in bottles, helped by a sharp reduction in its average declared price per unit, which fell 21.4%. Italy’s sparkling wine sales dropped 27% in dollars and 23.2% in bottles, with prices down 5%. Spain kept its average declared price nearly unchanged, slipping just 1.4% to about $4.08 per liter.
The comparison between quarterly results and longer-term data suggests that losses have worsened more recently, raising concern among exporters and importers about whether the downturn will continue through the coming months.
