In 2019, Italy exported to China (mainland) € 121,225,335 of bottled wine, according to ISTAT (National Statistical Institute) data:
- € 16,025,490 of sparkling wine
- € 95,141,205 of still bottled wine
- € 8,018,761 of fizzy bottled wine
- € 2,039,879 of fortified wine
Interesting facts:
- Prosecco, probably the trendiest Italian wine, in China accounts for only 2% of total Italian bottled wine (€ 2,408,559)
- “Quality” wines – DOP and IGP – in China represent almost 70% of total Italian bottled wine (€ 84,324,558) *supposed, like many sommelier associations, DOP and IGP represent quality wines
- Tuscany Red Wine, the most sold DOP in China, equals 15% of the total Italian Quality wine
- Italian red wine and white wine ratio in China is almost 90% to 10% (€ 85,854,560 red and € 9,286,645 white)
The research includes:
- € 16,610,959 of sparkling wine from fresh grapes (HS 220410)
- € 108,420,007 of still wine from fresh grapes in containers smaller than 2 litres – most probably standard 750 ml bottles (HS 220421: fizzy, still white and red, fortified wines)
It does not account for:
- bulk wine from fresh grapes in containers larger than 2 litres – most probably bag-in-box and tanks (HS 220422 + 220429)
- must of grapes partially fermented (HS 220430)
Sparkling wine: € 16,610,959 is the total of “sparkling wine” (HS 220410)
EU created 8 subgroups to defines some major categories and production areas of the sparkling wines: 2 subgroups for the major European sparkling (aka Champagne DOP and Cava DOP), 2 subgroups for Asti DOP and Prosecco DOP, the remaining 4 subgroups are for sparkling DOP, IGP, Varietal and generic.
€ 16,025,490 is the total of “Italian sparkling wine”
- € 2,408,559 (15% of the total) Prosecco DOP
- € 1,667,478 (10.4% of the total) Asti DOP
- € 2,801,751 (17.5% of the total) sparkling wine DOP
- € 1,558,798 (9.7% of the total) sparkling wine IGP
- € 1,905,034 (11.9% of the total) sparkling wine Varietal
- € 5,683,870 (35.5% of the total) sparkling wine generic
Still bottled wine: € 108,420,007 is the total of “still bottled wine” (HS 220421)
EU created 58 subgroups to defines some major categories and production areas of the wines. Currently there are 5 subgroups for Italian wite DOP wine and 5 for Italian red DOP wines, all the other wine regions ad IGP and varietal wines must fall in the generic EU groups, in which there could be some other European country wine.
€ 2,460,650 (2.27% of the total) is definitely NOT Italian wine
- € 1,114,404 (1.03% of the total) wine produced outside the EU
- € 1,346,246 (1.24% of the total) wine from some major France (€ 118,816 Alsace white DOP wine, € 328,767 Loire Valley red DOP wines), Spain (€ 145,480 Penedès white DOP wine), Portugal (€ 409,363 Madera fortified DOP wine), Germany and Greece DOPs
Based on these figures, we assume 1% of the generic EU subgroup is not Italian wine: The EU comprises 27 countries, but the major DOP are already defined in subgroups, such as Bordeaux, Rioja, Porto, etc., the other wine regions while are numerous may not be as popular to have significant quantity imported into Italy and re-exported to China.
€ 8,018,761 is the total of “fizzy” bottled wine (pressure between 1 and 3 bar)
€ 2,039,879 is the total of “fortified wine” (above 15% alcohol content)
- € 94,551 Marsala DOP
- € 1,945,328 other fortified wines
€ 95,141,205 is the total of “still bottled wine” (excluded fizzy and fortified wines)
- € 44,732,110 (47%) is the total DOP wine
- Piedmont red DOP wine € 5,456,828
- Veneto white DOP wine € 1,577,811
- Veneto red DOP wine € 6,008,229
- Trentino AA + Friuli white DOP wine € 993,608
- Trentino AA + Friuli red DOP wine € 155,300
- Tuscany white DOP wine € 565,231
- Tuscany red DOP wine € 12,353,483
- Lazio white DOP wine € 109,198
- Sicily white DOP wine € 229,001
- Sicily red DOP wine € 2,464,989
- € 39,592,448 (41.6%) is the total IGP wine
- € 1,714,937 (1.8%) is the total Varietal wine
- € 9,101,710 (9.6%) is the total generic wine
- € 9,286,645 (9.8%) is the total of white wine
- € 85,854,560 (90.2%) is the total of red wine
Researched by: Vito Donatiello
Elaboration of: 01/02/2021 – 14:47:57
Source: ISTAT – Foreign Trade