A letter arrived from Washington on July 12th that spells “the darkest page in relations between two historic Western allies,” as Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), noted in his commentary on the Trump administration’s letter announcing additional 30% US tariffs on the European Union starting August 1st. This is a particularly severe blow for the Italian wine industry, which records exports to the United States of approximately €2 billion, or 24% of the total. These figures highlight how Italian wine producers are more exposed to the US market than France (where the US share is 20%) and Spain (11%). Furthermore, according to data from the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) Observatory, Italian wine represents 40% of total EU exports to the United States.
“The 30% duty on wine, if confirmed, would be virtually an embargo on 80% of Italian wine,” Frescobaldi emphasizes. “At this point, our fate and that of hundreds of thousands of jobs are tied to the extra time, which will be crucial, because it is unthinkable to be able to sell these volumes of wine elsewhere in the short term. At the same time, extraordinary intervention from the EU will undoubtedly be needed.”
Broadening our focus to the European Union, European wine exports to the US are worth nearly €5 billion annually, while those from overseas reach €318 million. Overall, sales of European spirits in the US (including wine) generate a turnover of €8 billion, compared to imports of the same products amounting to €1.3 billion.
US tariffs at 30%: Italian wine’s commercial success at risk
The 30% US tariffs announced by the Trump administration are only part of a broader problem that is set to worsen in direct proportion to the dollar’s weakness.
In April 2025—the first month subject to the additional tariffs—Italian wine exports to the US saw a slowdown, with a 7.5% decline in volume and a 9.2% decline in value.
According to an analysis by the UIV Observatory, the right quality-price ratio is, in fact, a key element in Italian wine exports to the United States and the true secret to the commercial success of Made in Italy wines overseas.
Contrary to popular belief, the “popular” category of wines (ex-cellar price around €4 per liter, shelf price around $13 per bottle) is the best-selling, with 350 million bottles of Italian wine (81% of total volume and 63% of value). The premium segment (up to $30 on the shelf and an average of $10 at the cellar door) accounts for 17% of sales by volume (29% by value), while luxury—over $30—has a residual presence, accounting for just 2% by volume and 8% by value.
The average cellar door price for Italian wine exports to the United States is €5.35 per liter (more than half of “popular” wines are sold well below this threshold).
Uiv estimates that 76% of Italian wine sales (the equivalent of 364 million bottles out of a total of 482 million) are in the “red zone,” with exposure to the US market equal to or greater than 20% of total exports.
The particularly vulnerable appellations are: Moscato d’Asti at 60%, Pinot Grigio at 48%, Chianti Classico at 46%, Tuscan reds at 35%, Piedmont reds at 31%, and Brunello di Montalcino, along with Prosecco at 27% and Lambrusco.
In terms of volumes shipped, Pinot Grigio currently leads the way with 156 million bottles, closely followed by Prosecco with 142 million bottles and the leading value: €491 million.
What to drink and where in the United States
Geographically, American wine demand is concentrated in the South (4 out of 10 bottles are opened here), followed by the West (25%), the Northeast (10%), and the Midwest (16%).
The majority of wine consumption in the United States is domestic, accounting for 70% of volumes consumed. Only 3 out of 10 bottles of wine opened are imported from abroad, but among these, Italian labels rank first with a 37% market share. Australia (14%), New Zealand (12%), Chile (11%), and France (10%) follow in the foreign wine rankings.
Regarding Italian wine types, according to the UIV, sparkling wines represent 37% of the labels consumed in the US, followed by whites (36%) and, at a distance, reds (18%).
Looking at sparkling wines alone, Italian bubbles—led by Prosecco—represent the top choice (42%) among American consumers, ahead of domestic (40%) and French (10%) sparkling wines. This lead is also confirmed in terms of value, where Made in Italy takes first place with a 35% share, followed by French sparkling wines at 32% and American sparkling wines at 28%.
