American Association of Wine Economists AAWE

Per Capita Wine, Beer and Spirits Consumption in Hungary, 1961–2025. Overall alcohol consumption has been steadily declining from its peak of more than 13 liters of pure alcohol per capita in the early 1980s to now less than 9 liters. Wine has moved from favorite alcoholic beverage to least favorite

Family portrait in Dunapentele (today Dunaújváros), Hungary, in 1910. Lots of wine. Household staff in the background.

Publicity stunt for "Édes pezsgő" ("sweet champagne") sparkling wine, Hungary 1969.

Value of Hungary's Wine Trade, 2000–2025. Hungary is a net exporter of wine; growing exports and flat imports have resulted in a rising wine trade surplus.

Wine History: Carloads of Wine Grapes at Stockton, California — Early 1900s colorized picture postcard depicting grapes arriving at Stockton's El Pinal Winery, a winery founded in 1858.

Dramatic Vineyard Area Decline in Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, and Romania (1945–2024)

Carloads of grapes in Northern California, 1935 - one year after the end of prohibition.

Tomato wine! And other useful information.
Richard Harvey Phelps (1855): “The vine: its culture in the United States. Wine making from grapes and other fruit; useful recipes, &c.. Hartford, CT. 1855. archive.org/details/vine...

Hungary's Main Wine Export Markets in 2025. Many interesting insights. Slovakia is the most important export market by both value and volume. The U.S. imports by far the most expensive wine ($11/liter), followed by Russia, Japan, China, and Spain!

Wine merchant in Palermo, Sicily (Italy), c. 1880. Photo by Fratelli Alinari, an Italian photography company founded in Florence in 1852.

2024 Georgian banknote featuring Georgia as the "Cradle of Wine" with over 8,000 years of uninterrupted winemaking tradition. It's not legal tender but a limited-edition collectors' banknote called the "Euro Circularum 8000", only 5,000 pieces issued with the approval of the European Central Bank.

In 2025, the value of U.S. wine exports declined by more than 33%, from $1,278 million to $850 million. Most of the decline is due to Canada (-$343 million, - 77%). However, China, (-$69 million, -72%), the UK (-$14 million, -8%) and Panama (-$11 million, -74%) also exhibit significant losses.

Michael Apitz (German b. 1965) Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau.

Higher tariffs likely this week, says US Treasury Scott Bessent says that "likely sometime this week" the US will increase its global tariff on imports from the existing 10%.

Higher tariffs likely this week, says US Treasury
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Destinations of Spain's Bulk Wine Exports (2024)

Main Wine Grape Varieties in Hungary (2023)

In 2025, U.S. wine export value declined by $428 million (34%), largely attributable to a substantial contraction in exports to Canada (-$343m, -77%). Exports to China (-$69m, -73%), the UK (-$14m, -8%), and Panama (-$11m, -74%) also exhibit notable declines, albeit on a considerably smaller scale.

A Swiss Belle Époque wine advertising for Albert Weber's Vins Vaudois (Vevey) c. 1890s.

In absolute terms, the US is the top market for Argentine organic wine exports, followed by the UK and Sweden. But relative to population, Sweden and Denmark stand out — over half of Argentina's wine exports to both countries are organic (52.1% and 61.7%, respectively).

Henkell Freixenet takes on full control of Freixenet Henkell Freixenet has acquired 100% ownership of Spanish sparkling wine giant Freixenet, after the founding Ferrer family and José Luis Bonet agreed to sell their remaining shares.

The world's largest sparkling wine producer: Henkell Freixenet takes on full control of Freixenet S.A. On a side note, Henkell Freixenet is on the Industry Advisory Board of the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE).
www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2026/03/henk...

Value of U.S. Wine, Beer and Spirits Imports, 2010–2025
In 2025, wine imports fell by 8.3% (−$565 million) and beer imports fell by 6.9% (−$517 million). Both are dwarfed by the 26.3% (−$3.1 billion) decline in spirits imports.

1905 poster for Marty & Parazols Sulfur Company, Carcassonne (Aude département, Languedoc) and Cette (now Sète, Languedoc). Artist: F. Auer.

2025 U.S. Wine Imports Down by $565 million (-8.3%).
Italy (-$220M) and France (-$119M) accounted for the largest absolute losses. Among major trading partners, the steepest percentage declines were recorded for Moldova (-63%), Switzerland (-33%), Georgia (-33%), and South Africa (-30%).

When breakfast included wine. 1859 Breakfast Menu of New York City Metropolitan Hotel. Hearty fare (e.g., cold tongue, stewed tripe, fried pig’s feet) – all washed down with a 1841 Chateau Margaux (offered as one of several BREAKFAST WINES).

Wine barrels in Bercy, Paris, in 1908. The wine warehouses of Bercy were located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Located along the Seine, this area received, stored and distributed wines and spirits. During the late 19th and the early 20th century, Bercy was the world's largest wine market.

Fabrice, let me check. Karl

Share of Population Who Drinks Wine and Beer in Italy, 2024. The share of wine drinkers in the north is higher than in the south. In fact, and contrary to popular assumptions about Italian drinking culture, there are more beer drinkers than wine drinkers in Puglia, Calabria, Sicilia, and Sardegna.

Erich Heckel (German 1883-1970), Landscape in the Nahe Valley, 1930. Many vineyards. Heckel was a painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group "Die Brücke."

Converging Per Capita Wine Consumption in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, 1880-2023. More in Trink Magazine:
trinkmag.com/articles/alc...

Global Per Capita Wine, Beer, and Spirits Consumption, 1961-2023 (update)