EU sees lower 2023 wine output on big falls in Italy and Spain

Wine production in the European Union is set to fall 6 per cent this year after steep declines in major producers Italy and Spain following adverse weather, the European Commission said on Monday (Oct 9), as the grape harvest winds down.

In its first estimate for this year’s output, the EU executive forecast 2023 wine production of about 150 million hectolitres, with output in Italy and Spain falling 12 per cent and 14 per cent respectively from last year.

A hectolitre is the equivalent of 100 litres, or 133 standard wine bottles.

Extreme weather and fungal diseases hit vineyards in Italy so much this year that the country will lose its position as the world’s largest wine producer, with France set to reclaim the number one spot for the first time in nine years, Italian wine lobbies said last month.

France’s farm ministry estimated on Friday that wine output there this year would be similar to 2022 and 3 per cent above the five-year average at 46 million hectolitres, though with big differences between regions. The Commission pegged French wine output at 45 million hectolitres. REUTERS