American Association of Wine Economists AAWE

Serbia imported US$53.7 mill of wine in 2025 (21.95 mill L, avg US$2.45/L). North Macedonia led on volume (11.97 mill L at US$1.32/L), while France ranked #2 by value (US$10 mill) on just 0.47 mill L at US$21.15/L. Inexpensive bulk from the Balkans and Moldova, premium bottles from France.

Serbia’s Wine Exports, 2025. Almost 1/3 of Serbia’s wine export value (a modest US$25.6 million) goes to Russia, although at below-average prices.

Unloaded wine barrels, ready to be inspected, Royal Docks, London, 1953. Photo by Henry Grant (British, 1907–2004). London Museum

Wine as a share of national exports, 2025. Moldova (3.93%) and Georgia (3.67%) lead the world, followed by New Zealand (2.69%). Among the big producers, France reaches 1.84%, Chile 1.38%, and Italy and Portugal 1.21% each. Spain is at 0.76%. Macao ranks high only b/c its total exports are very small

Bouillie Barousse advertising poster, France c 1920. An eagle drops copper powder over a vineyard under the slogan “La marque qui plane sur le monde viticole.” After the Bordeaux mixture proved effective against downy mildew in the 1880s, copper sprays became routine in vineyards, applied generously

Sebastian Münster (1488–1552), Warhaffte contrafehtung der Statt Bourdeaux (“True depiction of the city of Bordeaux”), from the Cosmographia, Basel, 1544. This hand-colored woodcut shows the Palais Gallien amphitheater ruin, the Château Trompette, and ships on the Garonne, with a German key beneath.

Avg Brix degrees of crushed Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys have surged from below 23° in the 1980s to about 25.5° in 2020. Napa passed Sonoma in the late 1990s and has stayed 0.3–0.4° Brix higher (10-year moving avg). Has Napa’s higher Brix gone along with premiumization?

“Feldgrau und Goldgelb” (field gray and golden yellow): a German WWI postcard by H. Heilemann, meant to lift spirits at the front and at home. A soldier and a woman bring in the grape harvest, a picture of the peaceful life soldiers hoped to return to. #winehistory #WWI

Sotheby's Wine and Spirits Auction Sales Worldwide, 2013-2025

Ferruccio Lamborghini (Italian 1916–1993) was born to grape farmers in Emilia-Romagna. Among others, he founded a tractor company (1949), an oil heater factory (1959) and sports cars Automobili Lamborghini in 1963. He retired as a winemaker in Umbria en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrucc...

Grape harvest in a Moldavian village, 1982

A different world! In 1961, Merlot was only #9 and Cabernet Sauvignon only #16 among France’s red grape varieties. Carignan and Aramon led by a wide margin, at #1 and #2 with 185,000 and 160,000 hectares. Fascinating insights into the French vineyard 65 years ago. #winehistory

Italy's organic vineyard landscape varies widely across regions. Marche tops the chart at 53%, followed by Calabria (49%) and Tuscany & Sicily (both 40.6%). Meanwhile, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto, Sardinia, and Lazio all remain below 10%. Italy's average is 22.1%.

Regional Organic Vineyard Area in Italy, 2023

Advertisement for Renault N73 Vigneron tractor, built between 1960 and 1964. Diesel-powered, 1.4-liter engine, 20 hp.

The World’s Largest Wine Importers by Volume

JOURNAL OF WINE ECONOMICS, BOOK REVIEW (forthcoming): Anthony Rose: “The Story of Dassai: The Art of Sake.” Reviewed by Peter W. Brush.  Open access: www.cambridge.org/core/service...

Spain’s Bulk Wine Exports to France and Germany, 1995–2025 France and Germany together account for almost 60% of Spain’s bulk wine exports (2025). Since 2024, Spain has exported more bulk wine to Germany than to France for the first time in recent history.

Les Vendanges – Le Chargement. Loading the grape harvest. Hand-colored French postcard, c. 1900 (Burgundy or Champagne).

Per Capita Meat Consumption in the U.S., 1960-2025. It looks as though chicken has been an addition rather than a replacement.

Marker of social exclusion. In 2025, 11.0% of people aged 15 to 29 in the EU were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), above the 2030 target of 9%. The map shows the highest NEET rates in southern and eastern Europe. ec.europa.eu/eurostat/sta...

Egon Schiele (Austrian, 1890–1918), Wine Cellar in Vienna Floridsdorf, 1917. Leopold Museum, Vienna.

Picnic with friends in France, c. 1900. Vintage citrate print.

U.S. Wine Imports, Jan–Aug 2026 U.S. wine imports fell 15.8% year over year, from $4,498M to $3,786M. France (−$245M) and Italy (−$240M) drove most of the decline. Australia and Chile (−34% each) and Argentina (−25%) fell steeply; New Zealand only by −5%. Lebanon (+23%) and Switzerland (+12%) grew

Constantine Zanis (1864-1947) Line of qvevri – the traditional vessel used for Georgian winemaking – along the side of a road in the Kakhat'i region of Georgia (late 19th or early 20th century) Source: British Library, Endangered Archives Programme eap.bl.uk/archive-file...

Mural in Gurjaani, in the Kakheti region of Georgia, 2025.

48% of Americans rate Canada “very warmly,” the highest share among G20 countries, and 51% rate Russia “very coldly.” Trade tells a different story. After U.S. tariffs and annexation threats, Canadian provinces pulled US alcohol from their shelves in Mar 2025. www.pewresearch.org/global/2026/...

Indre-et-Loire vineyards in 1912: white (e.g., Vouvray, Montlouis) and red (e.g., Chinon, Bourgueil). Since then, vineyard area fell from ~40,000 to ~10,000 ha, the Richelais white zone vanished, and Touraine AOP whites shifted from Chenin to Sauvignon. (A. Chauvigné, 1913, Le Vignoble de Touraine)

JOURNAL OF WINE ECONOMICS (forthcoming): “Why the current global wine industry crisis?” by Kym Anderson. Open access: www.cambridge.org/core/service...

Female farm management in Europe: Share of utilized agricultural area managed by women, by NUTS 2 region, 2023 (EFTA: 2020). EU average: 17.2%, highest in Austria, southern Italy, Galicia and Poland, lowest in the Benelux and Switzerland. Source: Eurostat

Erasmus von Engert (Austrian, 1796-1871) Still life with parrot and grapes, ca. 1830

Monthly U.S. Wine Trade Balance, January 2023–August 2026. In August 2026, U.S. wine exports were $62 million and imports $476 million, resulting in a wine trade deficit of $413 million, still larger than the $371 million deficit in August 2025.

Bottle of wine. Edward Hopper (1899) - Pablo Picasso (1912)

Shifting Intermediaries in Wine Exports to Russia, 2023 vs 2025. Lithuania’s exports collapse, Poland’s nearly double.

Tinaja cart, Murcia, Spain, c. 1863. Photo: Jean Laurent (1816-1886) court photographer to Isabel II. Tinajas are clay jars used in Spain to ferment and store wine, like the Roman dolium or Georgian qvevri. Mostly replaced by steel tanks, they’re making a comeback with natural winemakers.

Main Direct and Indirect Wine Exports to Russia, 2025

Direct wine exports to Russia, 2025 Italy and Georgia are the largest direct suppliers: Italy by value (US$234m), Georgia by volume (61m liters). But there are also significant indirect exports, mainly via Latvia and Poland.

Call for Papers: 19th Annual AAWE Conference, Würzburg, Germany, July 7–11, 2027. www.wine-economics.org

In many countries, people see their fellow citizens as morally good, especially in Canada. The U.S. is the exception: Americans are especially likely to view their fellow citizens as morally bad. Source: Pew Research Center, 25-country survey, March 2026 www.pewresearch.org/religion/202...

Promotional photo of a fridge from the Chișinău Refrigerator Plant, Moldavian SSR (Soviet Union), 1970 – well stocked with still and sparkling wine. Note the mechanical foot pedal at the bottom left, which appears to open the door hands-free. Photo: Efim Dreischner/TASS

Irma Stern (South African, 1894–1966), Girl Eating Grapes, 1933. South African National Gallery. Stern was a major, internationally recognized South African artist of German-Jewish descent. She was associated with the German Expressionists and studied with Max Pechstein.

Uneven Decline. California’s vineyard area is shrinking, led by the Central Valley and Monterey. Since 2000, Madera has lost 44%; since 2020, Monterey, Madera, San Joaquin, and Fresno have each lost 12–16%. Napa, Sonoma, and San Luis Obispo held steady until 2024–25, when all three began to slip.

Historical photo from Hochheim am Main (Germany) showing Rebveredler (vine grafters) at work, 1960s. Hand-grafting of Vitis vinifera scions onto phylloxera-resistant rootstocks was essential winter work in German viticulture. Note the beer and wine bottles on the table. Photo: Stadt Hochheim am Main

Adélia Eberle, the first Queen of the Festa da Uva (Grape Festival) in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Photograph by Júlio Calegari, 1932.

After adjusting for inflation, French IGP bulk wine prices have fallen about 18% since 2022: red from €107/hl to €88/hl, and white from €137/hl to €112/hl. Both colors declined almost identically, but white still commands a premium of more than €20/hl (12-month averages)

Unlike the empty and unprotected “Old Vines” claims that any producer can print for free, this South African seal carried by Waterford Estate is backed by an independent certification and a verified planting year: 1966.

Siegfried Shalom Sebba (Germany/Israel, 1897–1975), Self-Portrait with Beer Glass, 1928.

Main Wine Grape Varieties in Brazil, 2016. Almost 90% of Brazil’s vineyard area is planted with hybrids or Vitis labrusca-type American grapes, including Isabella, Bordô, Concord, Niagara, Couderc Noir, Jacquez, Moscato Embrapa, Violeta, Cora, Lorena, Seibel, Couderc 13, Niagara Red, and more.

Sparkling Wine Sales in Brazil, Domestic vs. Imported, 2014–2024. About 80% of sparkling wine sold in Brazil is domestically produced, apart from a dip to about 70% in 2018. Total sales grew about 75% over the decade, from 22.6 to 39.4 million liters.

Festa da Uva (Grape Festival), Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1934. Float of the Cooperativa Agrícola Caxiense. In the late 1800s, thousands of immigrants, chiefly Italians from the Veneto region, settled in Caxias do Sul, making it a center of wine production. The festival began in 1931.