Wine tasting sits within a large and changing industry. In 2024, the world had 7.1 million hectares of vineyard surface area, produced 225.8 million hectolitres of wine, and consumed an estimated 214.2 million hectolitres. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) reported declines in both production and consumption, while the United States remained one of the world’s largest wine markets.
Contents
- Global vineyard and production statistics
- Wine consumption around the world
- International wine trade
- The U.S. wine market
- California’s wine industry
- Sparkling wine statistics
Global vineyard and production statistics
The OIV’s State of the World Vine and Wine Sector in 2024 places the global vineyard area at 7.1 million hectares in 2024. That was a 0.6% decrease from the previous year and the fourth consecutive annual decline. Vineyard surface area describes land planted with vines; it is not the same measure as the volume of wine produced.
Global wine production reached 225.8 million hectolitres in 2024, according to the same OIV report. Production fell 4.8% compared with 2023, and 2024 was the lowest global production level in more than 60 years. These figures describe wine supply, not the number of tasting events, bottles opened, or individual servings.
The production decline occurred alongside a smaller global vineyard footprint. For readers comparing wine regions or tasting styles, the figures provide useful context: the wines available for tasting come from an agricultural and manufacturing system whose total planted area and annual output can move in different directions from one year to the next.
The scale of the global market can also be seen through trade. World wine export volume held at 99.8 million hectolitres in 2024, while the export value was 35.9 billion euros. The average world wine export price was 3.60 euros per litre. Export value and retail value are different measures, so the OIV export figures should not be read as the final price paid by a consumer at a tasting room or shop.
Wine consumption around the world
Global wine consumption was estimated at 214.2 million hectolitres in 2024, a 3.3% decline from 2023, according to the OIV. The estimate is a market-level measure rather than a direct count of people who tasted wine. The OIV also reported that, if confirmed, 2024 consumption would be the lowest since 1961; its comparison figure for 1961 was 213.6 million hectolitres.
The European Union represented a 103.6 million hectolitre wine market in 2024 and accounted for 48% of world wine consumption. Among individual countries, France consumed 23.0 million hectolitres, Italy 22.3 million, Germany 17.8 million, Spain 9.9 million, and the United Kingdom 12.6 million.
Outside those European figures, the United States consumed 33.3 million hectolitres in 2024. U.S. consumption fell 5.8% compared with 2023. Canada consumed 4.6 million hectolitres, Japan 3.1 million, and Brazil 3.1 million. Russia consumed 8.1 million hectolitres.
China consumed 5.5 million hectolitres in 2024, and its wine consumption fell 19.3% from 2023. That decline is notably different from the market sizes of the United States and the European Union, but the figures describe national consumption volumes rather than tasting preferences or the popularity of any particular grape variety.
Here is a compact comparison of selected 2024 consumption markets reported by the OIV:
| Market | Wine consumption in 2024 |
|---|---|
| United States | 33.3 million hectolitres |
| France | 23.0 million hectolitres |
| Italy | 22.3 million hectolitres |
| Germany | 17.8 million hectolitres |
| United Kingdom | 12.6 million hectolitres |
| Spain | 9.9 million hectolitres |
| Russia | 8.1 million hectolitres |
| China | 5.5 million hectolitres |
| Canada | 4.6 million hectolitres |
| Japan | 3.1 million hectolitres |
| Brazil | 3.1 million hectolitres |
International wine trade
Trade patterns help explain why a wine tasting can include bottles from many different countries. Italy exported 21.7 million hectolitres of wine in 2024, with an export value of 8.105 billion euros. Spain exported 20.0 million hectolitres, France 12.8 million, Chile 7.8 million, and Australia 6.5 million.
The form in which wine travels affects both volume and value. Bottled wine accounted for 50.8% of global export volume in 2024 but 67.0% of global export value. Bulk wine represented 34.7% of export volume and 7.4% of export value. These shares show why a litre-based comparison and a value-based comparison can produce very different pictures of international wine commerce.
On the import side, Germany received 12.7 million hectolitres in 2024. The United Kingdom imported 12.6 million hectolitres, and the United States imported 12.3 million. Canada imported 3.8 million hectolitres, China 2.8 million, and Portugal 2.1 million.
The United States recorded wine import value of 6.278 billion euros in 2024. Bottled wine made up 56% of U.S. import volume and 71% of U.S. import value. China’s wine import value reached 1.475 billion euros. These values are reported in euros by the OIV and should not be converted into another currency without a stated exchange-rate date.
The U.S. wine market
The Wine Institute reported U.S. wine consumption of 870 million gallons in 2024. Consumption per resident was 2.54 gallons. The two figures use gallons and gallons per resident, while the OIV’s international comparison uses hectolitres, so they should be kept as separate reported measures rather than combined through unsupported conversion.
The Wine Institute also reported total U.S. wine production of 647,701,604 gallons in 2024. California accounted for 508,246,015 gallons of production and produced 81% of U.S. wine, according to the California Wines Profile. California’s production figure is lower than total U.S. production because the national total includes wine produced outside California.
U.S. sales data provide another view of market scale. Total U.S. wine sales reached 378.2 million 9-liter cases in 2023, with a total U.S. wine retail value of $106.3 billion. California wine’s estimated retail value in the U.S. market was $67.5 billion in 2024. That California figure is an estimated retail value, not the same thing as winery revenue or export value.
For wine tasting readers, these numbers distinguish three different ideas: how much wine people consume, how much wine producers make, and the retail value attached to sales. A tasting flight may involve only a few ounces, but the bottles represented in it are part of these larger production, distribution, and retail systems.
California’s wine industry
California’s role is visible in production, vineyard resources, and the number of businesses involved. The California Wines Profile reported 4,700 bonded wineries in February 2026, along with 5,900 winegrape growers and 477,000 acres of winegrapes. The same profile listed 154 American Viticultural Areas.
The profile also reported that more than 80% of California wine was produced in a Certified California Sustainable Winery in February 2026. It listed California’s winegrape production at 2.96 million tons. Because these measurements are dated February 2026, they should not be treated as 2024 production totals or as a time series unless a separate date is supplied.
California wine shipments totaled 232.3 million 9-liter cases to all markets in 2024. Shipments to the U.S. market totaled 203.5 million 9-liter cases. The California & U.S. Wine Sales figures also put California wine’s estimated U.S. retail value at $67.5 billion in 2024.
The California Wines Profile separately reported that California sold 232 million cases of wine in the U.S. market in February 2026 and gave an estimated U.S. retail value of $67.5 billion. Since those figures have different measurement dates and labels, the February 2026 profile should remain distinct from the 2024 shipment statistics.
Sparkling wine statistics
Sparkling wine represents a measurable part of the U.S. wine market. The Sparkling Wine Production & Imports figures reported U.S. sparkling wine sales of 33.9 million 9-liter cases in 2024. They also reported California winery sparkling shipments of 9.223 million 9-liter cases and foreign sparkling wine shipments to the United States of 22.840 million 9-liter cases in 2024.
The same source reported total U.S. sparkling wine shipments of 11.071 million 9-liter cases in 2024 and total sparkling wine shipments of 35.334 million 9-liter cases in 2023. Foreign sparkling wine shipments were 23.300 million 9-liter cases in 2023. The labels distinguish sales, shipments, California winery shipments, and foreign shipments; those categories should not be added together without a matching definition.
For historical context, California winery sparkling shipments were 12.170 million 9-liter cases in 2021. That earlier figure uses the same case unit but a different year from the 2024 figures. Comparing the two can show that the reported shipment levels were not identical across the supplied years, but the data do not establish the reasons for the change.
Taken together, the statistics describe a wine world that is broad in geography and varied in scale. Global production and consumption declined in 2024, international trade remained substantial, the United States remained a major consuming and importing market, and California accounted for a large share of U.S. production and sales.