Italian bubbles are set to surpass the record quota of 1 billion bottles produced and marketed in 2024; of these, 355 million (+7%) will be uncorked between Christmas and New Year's in Italy and around the world. A record, notes the Uiv-Ismea Wine Observatory in its usual end-of-year report, which demonstrates the strength of a typology that is resistant to economic crises, conflicts and the now structural difficulties of the sector.

In detail, according to the analysis by the Italian Wine Union and the Institute for Agricultural Food Market Services through the cross-referencing of official sources, between Christmas and New Year's the consumption of Italian sparkling wines will be concentrated mainly abroad with 251 million bottles uncorked (+9% on 2023) and 104 million in Italy (+2%). The champagne market, on the other hand, will significantly decline, closing at -8% (5.1 million).

The 2024 final figure (1.015 billion bottles, +8%) highlights the strong counter-trend of the sparkling wine typology not only compared to still wines but also to the consumption of other alcoholic beverages – from beer to spirits – with the exception of the cocktail segment, which actually represents an increasingly strategic growth lever also for bubbles made in Italy.

The “Spritz trend”, accelerating in all key areas of demand starting from the USA, according to the Observatory’s estimates has translated into 2.8 billion cocktails based on Italian sparkling wine (in particular Prosecco and other Charmat), for a total of approximately 340 million bottles dedicated to the mix. A determining factor for this year’s exports, which are emerging in an estimated growth, in terms of volumes, of 9%, thanks in particular to the umpteenth exploit of Prosecco, with the Doc and the Asolo, and the double-digit growth of the other “Charmat method”.

According to the Uiv-Ismea Wine Observatory, the market is still dominated by sparkling wines with controlled (Doc) and guaranteed (Docg) designations of origin, which represent approximately 80% of the bottled wines. And if up until 20 years ago the Po line was almost never crossed, today sparkling wines are made throughout Italy, with 70 controlled origin denominations and 17 guaranteed controlled origin denominations.