NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD NEWS) — U.S. wine consumers spent more in 2025, but they bought less wine, showing another demand challenge for vineyards and wineries. The BMO 2026 Wine Market Report says consumer spending topped $115 billion, up 3 percent, while total wine volume declined again.
The report describes the market as a reset, not a pause. Higher prices are supporting the dollar’s overall value, but fewer consumers are drinking wine, and those who do are doing so less often. That leaves wineries trying to manage weaker demand, rising costs, and excess supply.
California remains central to the story. BMO says wine entering the U.S. market from California has fallen nearly 25 percent in less than a decade, reflecting vineyard pullbacks, a historically small harvest, and a shift away from chasing volume growth.
Direct-to-consumer sales are also under pressure. Winery shipments fell 15 percent by volume to 5.4 million cases, while shipment value dropped 6 percent to $3.7 billion. Nearly one-quarter of surveyed wineries reported losing a primary distributor.
Still, 71 percent of wineries surveyed expect the industry to stabilize or rebound within three years.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Wine grape growers and wineries face a market in which higher spending is masking weaker consumption and shifting distribution channels.
Tony St. James, RFD News Markets Specialist
Consumer demand for regional food systems is strong, but the challenge lies in scaling production and infrastructure to meet that growing need.
October 03, 2025 02:57 PM
·
Dave Kestel, a farmer from Will County and member of the Illinois Farm Bureau, joins us to share a boots-on-the-ground update on the 2025 corn harvest.
October 03, 2025 02:30 PM
·
American Coalition for Ethanol’s Ron Lamberty shares the significance of California’s approval, opening up the country’s largest gasoline market to a cleaner-burning, often lower-cost fuel option.
October 03, 2025 01:12 PM
·
University of Illinois Ag Economist Gary Schnitker says early projections indicate soybeans will be more profitable than corn in 2026.
October 03, 2025 11:53 AM
·
In a final rule published in the Federal Register, the Department states that it will no longer base wage rates on the Farm Labor Survey.
October 02, 2025 11:20 AM
·
Aubrey Aquino, producer and host of
California Bountiful, joined us Tuesday to talk about their project, “Bountiful Finds.”
September 30, 2025 02:50 PM
·
