Italian wine statistics at a glance
Italian wine sits at the center of global production, trade, and consumption, and the latest figures show why the category keeps drawing attention.
The headline is simple: Italy remained the world’s largest wine producer in 2024, while also leading wine exports by volume and ranking second by export value (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Fast facts
- 2024 production: 44.1 million hectoliters, the largest among producing countries (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- 2024 world production: 225.6 million hectoliters, down 5.0% versus 2023 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- Italy’s share of global production: 20% in 2024 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- 2024 exports: 21.7 million hectoliters, equal to 22% of world export volume (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- 2024 export value: 8,105 million euros, second only to France (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- 2024 consumption: 22.3 million hectoliters, or 10% of global consumption (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Contents
- What the latest Italian wine numbers say
- Production trends in Italy
- Consumption and domestic demand
- Exports, imports, and trade balance signals
- How Italian wine production is structured
- What the multi-year figures suggest
- Why the numbers matter for readers and buyers
What the latest Italian wine numbers say
The most important thing to understand about Italian wine statistics is that Italy is not just large in one dimension. It is large in production, strong in exports, and still among the biggest domestic consumers in the world (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
That combination matters because it points to a market with both scale and depth. The country can ship huge volumes abroad while also supporting a large internal market, which is one reason Italian wine remains so influential in global wine trade (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Key takeaways
- Italy’s 44.1 million hectoliters of production in 2024 made it the top producing country (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- Global production was lower in 2024 at 225.6 million hectoliters, so Italy’s relative weight increased in a smaller world market (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- Export volume reached 21.7 million hectoliters, showing that Italy’s production base is strongly connected to international demand (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- Export value of 8,105 million euros confirms that Italy is not just moving volume; it is also generating major trade value (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Italy was again the largest wine producer in 2024, and it stayed one of the world’s most important wine markets across production, consumption, and exports (OIV World Wine Production Outlook 2024; OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Production trends in Italy
Italian wine production moved through a clear cycle over the last several years. It was 47.5 million hectoliters in 2019, 49.1 million in 2020, and 50.2 million in 2021, before easing to 49.8 million in 2022 and 38.3 million in 2023 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
That 2023 decline is important because it creates a dramatic contrast with 2024. Production rebounded to 44.1 million hectoliters in 2024, which is still below the 2021 peak but much stronger than the prior year (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Production by year
| Year | Italy wine production | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 47.5 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2020 | 49.1 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2021 | 50.2 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2022 | 49.8 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2023 | 38.3 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2024 | 44.1 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
What stands out in the production trend
- The 2021 peak of 50.2 million hectoliters remains the strongest year in the provided series (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- The drop to 38.3 million hectoliters in 2023 was steep, but the 2024 result shows recovery rather than collapse (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- The five-year average for 2024 was 47.0 million hectoliters, so 2024 was below the recent norm but still substantial (OIV World Wine Production Outlook 2024).
If you are reading Italian wine statistics for market context, the production trend suggests a mature industry that still responds sharply to year-to-year conditions. The scale is stable enough to matter globally, but not so smooth that a single harvest year can be ignored.
Consumption and domestic demand
Italy is also a major wine-consuming market, which changes how its production numbers should be interpreted. The country’s 2024 wine consumption was 22.3 million hectoliters, equal to 10% of world wine consumption (OIV Statistical Brief 2024). That is a large domestic base for a country already leading global production.
World wine consumption in 2024 was 214.1 million hectoliters, down 3.3% versus 2023 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024). Italy’s share is therefore meaningful even without being the largest consuming country. The dataset says Italy was among the top three wine-consuming markets in 2024 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Consumption trend table
| Year | Italy wine consumption | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 22.6 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2020 | 24.2 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2021 | 24.2 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2022 | 22.4 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2023 | 22.3 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2024 | 22.3 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
Why the consumption numbers matter
- Consumption has stayed in a fairly narrow band, from 22.3 to 24.2 million hectoliters across the supplied years (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- That stability gives Italy a dependable internal market even when production changes from year to year (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- The 2024 figure exactly matched 2023 at 22.3 million hectoliters, which suggests a steady, not volatile, domestic demand profile (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Exports, imports, and trade balance signals
Italy’s export data are one of the most useful parts of the statistics because they show how the country converts production into international value. In 2024, Italy exported 21.7 million hectoliters, up from 21.1 million in 2023 and just ahead of 21.6 million in 2022 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
That volume made Italy the largest wine exporter by volume in 2024 and gave it 22% of world wine export volume (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Export volume trend
| Year | Italy wine export volume | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 21.4 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2020 | 20.7 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2021 | 22.0 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2022 | 21.6 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2023 | 21.1 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| 2024 | 21.7 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
Export value is even more revealing
Export value tells a slightly different story from export volume. Italy’s 2024 export value was 8,105 million euros, up from 7,674 million euros in 2023 and 7,796 million euros in 2022 (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
That put Italy second in the world for export value, behind France, which led with 11,671 million euros (OIV Statistical Brief 2024). Italy also represented 23% of world wine export value, compared with 22% of world export volume (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
That difference matters. It suggests that Italian wine is not only sold widely, but also performs well in value terms relative to its share of volume.
Export value comparison
| Measure | Italy | World | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export volume | 21.7 million hectoliters | 99.1 million hectoliters | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| Export value | 8,105 million euros | 35,942 million euros | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| Share of world exports by volume | 22% | - | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
| Share of world exports by value | 23% | - | OIV Statistical Brief 2024 |
Import data in context
Italy also imports wine, though at much smaller levels than it exports. In 2024, imports were 2.9 million hectoliters and 2,491 million euros in value (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
A few useful points from the import figures:
- 2024 import volume was higher than 2023’s 1.8 million hectoliters (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- 2024 import value was lower than 2023’s 2,699 million euros (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- Italy was the seventh-largest wine importer by value in 2024 at 2,491 million euros (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
How Italian wine production is structured
The Ministry of Agriculture figures add another layer by showing the mix of protected and non-protected production. For 2025-2026, Italy’s official wine production total was 44,383,946 hectoliters (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
Within that total:
- DOP wine production: 20,995,603 hectoliters, or 47% of total production (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
- IGP wine production: 11,154,231 hectoliters, or 25% of total production (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
- Varietal wine production: 522,968 hectoliters, or 1% of total production (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
- Generic wine production: 11,711,144 hectoliters, or 26% of total production (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
Production structure comparison
| Category | 2025-2026 volume | Share of total | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| DOP | 20,995,603 hectoliters | 47% | MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026 |
| IGP | 11,154,231 hectoliters | 25% | MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026 |
| Varietal | 522,968 hectoliters | 1% | MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026 |
| Generic | 11,711,144 hectoliters | 26% | MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026 |
What the structure tells you
- Nearly half of production is DOP, which points to a strong quality and designation profile (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
- IGP and generic wine together make up just over half of the total, showing that Italy’s production base is broad rather than narrowly premium (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
- Varietal wine is a very small slice at 1%, so it is not the main driver of the industry by volume (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
The older MASAF series helps put this in perspective. In 2021-2022, official total wine production was 50,231,566 hectoliters, with 45% DOP, 26% IGP, 1% varietal, and 27% generic (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2021-2022). In 2018-2019, official total wine and must production was 54,783,475 hectoliters, including 22,676,137 hectoliters of DOP wine, 13,236,805 hectoliters of IGP wine, 733,514 hectoliters of varietal wine, and 18,137,019 hectoliters of wines without DOP or IGP labeling (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2018-2019).
Longer-run production snapshots
- 2017-2018: 42,498,571 hectoliters total; 19,458,106 DOP; 9,410,965 IGP; 457,196 varietal; 13,172,304 without DOP or IGP labeling (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2017-2018).
- 2016-2017: 50,920,313 hectoliters total; 18,476,627 DOP; 13,734,486 IGP; 567,125 varietal; 18,142,075 without DOP or IGP labeling (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2016-2017).
- 2015-2016: 49,996,458 hectoliters total; 18,312,947 DOP; 14,310,439 IGP; 507,848 varietal; 16,865,224 without DOP or IGP labeling (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2015-2016).
- 2014-2015: 44,739,039 hectoliters total; 15,891,150 DOP; 13,149,148 IGP; 367,357 varietal; 15,331,384 without DOP or IGP labeling (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2014-2015).
What the multi-year figures suggest
The longer view shows a country that keeps operating at very high scale even when the total moves around. Italy’s production series spans from 44.1 million hectoliters in 2024 to 50.2 million in 2021 and 54.8 million in 2018-2019, depending on the measure and year series used (OIV Statistical Brief 2024; MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2018-2019).
That variation is normal for wine, but the underlying pattern is consistent:
- Production remains large enough to anchor world totals.
- Exports remain strong enough to place Italy at or near the top of global trade rankings.
- Domestic consumption stays substantial enough to keep the local market highly relevant.
The 2024 world figures also help show Italy’s importance in context. World production was 225.6 million hectoliters, world consumption was 214.1 million hectoliters, world export volume was 99.1 million hectoliters, and world export value was 35,942 million euros (OIV Statistical Brief 2024). Italy’s shares of those totals were large across the board, especially in production and exports (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
Why it matters for readers and buyers
- If you follow supply, Italy is one of the most important countries to watch because it can move global production totals by itself (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- If you follow trade, Italy’s export value and volume show that it remains a central player in international wine pricing and distribution (OIV Statistical Brief 2024).
- If you follow style and origin, the DOP and IGP figures show how deeply designation-based production is embedded in the Italian system (MASAF Dati della produzione vinicola 2025-2026).
A useful way to read the data is to treat Italy as a three-part market: a huge producer, a major exporter, and a large consumer. Those three roles reinforce one another, and the statistics in this dataset show that the country is influential even when individual annual totals move up or down.