Eurostat, the EU’s official statistics body, is reporting an 8% decline in sparkling wine production and exports in 2023 (yes, 2023, see below). The EU produced 1.496 billion litres of sparkling wine, down from 1.624 billion litres in 2022. Italy led production with 638 million litres, followed by France with 312 million (224 million litres of champagne and 88 million litres of other sparkling wines) and Germany with 263 million litres. Spain and Portugal contributed 206 million and 25 million litres, respectively.
Exports to non-EU countries also fell by 8%, with 600 million litres exported in 2023 compared to 649 million in 2022. However, export levels remained higher than those seen between 2018 and 2020. Prosecco accounted for the largest share of exports (44%, 266 million litres), followed by other sparkling wines made from fresh grapes, champagne, cava, and PDO sparkling wines. In contrast, the EU imported only 5 million litres of sparkling wine from outside the bloc, representing less than 1% of its exports.
The data focuses on 2023 rather than 2024 likely because comprehensive statistics for the latter year are not yet be available. Gathering and analysing production and export data on such a large scale requires significant time. This time lag is common in economic and trade reporting to maintain data integrity.
