2026: wine trends according to Proposta Vini
Francesca Negri,
Monday, 02 February 2026 (0 minutes read)
According to Gianpaolo Girardi, founder of the company that ended the year on a positive note with a slight increase in turnover (1%), the wine market in 2025 followed the trend of 2024 and the outlook for next year is for moderate growth:
Champagne: as was already the case in 2024, in the year just ended, the most expensive French sparkling wines suffered a decline in sales, a trend that will not reverse in 2026;
Red wines: in 2025, we saw a slowdown in the decline in consumption and we believe that, after a period of stabilisation, the trend will reverse. On the other hand, the decline in consumption of great reds such as Supertuscans and great Bordeaux blends in the Horeca sector is structural, both for reasons of price and because of their high alcohol content, which no longer meets the tastes of the public.
Natural wines: consumer interest in this type of product is still strong and continues to be followed, but with a different focus on taste, favouring wines that have no defects. This is mainly linked to health issues and an increasing awareness of environmental issues.
For decades, the wine industry has been experiencing a gradual and continuous decline in per capita consumption. There has been no significant drop in consumption in restaurants and hotels and, unfortunately, as has always been the case, young people prefer other beverages. Finally, wine is beginning to be promoted through its historical and cultural dimensions, its connection to the land and its link to cuisine. For this reason, we hope that the recognition of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO World Heritage Site will help to encourage wine consumption, promoting it as a fundamental element of a territory's history, and enhance the value of artisanal products and the many historic grape varieties that characterise our country," says Gianpaolo Girardi.
Among the grape varieties on which the company will focus its attention in 2026 will be Vermentino, a grape variety whose origins are unknown, which loves the sea and seeks it out to express itself at its best, offering different reflections depending on the territories in which it is grown. There are thirty labels in the Proposta Vini catalogue through which to discover the character and traits of this wine that tastes of the sea.
