Main Direct and Indirect Wine Exports to Russia, 2025

Direct wine exports to Russia, 2025 Italy and Georgia are the largest direct suppliers: Italy by value (US$234m), Georgia by volume (61m liters). But there are also significant indirect exports, mainly via Latvia and Poland.

Promotional photo of a fridge from the Chișinău Refrigerator Plant, Moldavian SSR (Soviet Union), 1970 – well stocked with still and sparkling wine. Note the mechanical foot pedal at the bottom left, which appears to open the door hands-free. Photo: Efim Dreischner/TASS

Irma Stern (South African, 1894–1966), Girl Eating Grapes, 1933. South African National Gallery. Stern was a major, internationally recognized South African artist of German-Jewish descent. She was associated with the German Expressionists and studied with Max Pechstein.

Uneven Decline. California’s vineyard area is shrinking, led by the Central Valley and Monterey. Since 2000, Madera has lost 44%; since 2020, Monterey, Madera, San Joaquin, and Fresno have each lost 12–16%. Napa, Sonoma, and San Luis Obispo held steady until 2024–25, when all three began to slip.

Historical photo from Hochheim am Main (Germany) showing Rebveredler (vine grafters) at work, 1960s. Hand-grafting of Vitis vinifera scions onto phylloxera-resistant rootstocks was essential winter work in German viticulture. Note the beer and wine bottles on the table. Photo: Stadt Hochheim am Main

Adélia Eberle, the first Queen of the Festa da Uva (Grape Festival) in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Photograph by Júlio Calegari, 1932.

After adjusting for inflation, French IGP bulk wine prices have fallen about 18% since 2022: red from €107/hl to €88/hl, and white from €137/hl to €112/hl. Both colors declined almost identically, but white still commands a premium of more than €20/hl (12-month averages)

Unlike the empty and unprotected “Old Vines” claims that any producer can print for free, this South African seal carried by Waterford Estate is backed by an independent certification and a verified planting year: 1966.

Siegfried Shalom Sebba (Germany/Israel, 1897–1975), Self-Portrait with Beer Glass, 1928.

Main Wine Grape Varieties in Brazil, 2016. Almost 90% of Brazil’s vineyard area is planted with hybrids or Vitis labrusca-type American grapes, including Isabella, Bordô, Concord, Niagara, Couderc Noir, Jacquez, Moscato Embrapa, Violeta, Cora, Lorena, Seibel, Couderc 13, Niagara Red, and more.

Sparkling Wine Sales in Brazil, Domestic vs. Imported, 2014–2024. About 80% of sparkling wine sold in Brazil is domestically produced, apart from a dip to about 70% in 2018. Total sales grew about 75% over the decade, from 22.6 to 39.4 million liters.

Festa da Uva (Grape Festival), Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1934. Float of the Cooperativa Agrícola Caxiense. In the late 1800s, thousands of immigrants, chiefly Italians from the Veneto region, settled in Caxias do Sul, making it a center of wine production. The festival began in 1931.

Regional Distribution of Brazil's Vineyard Area, 2022: 62% of the total vineyard area is located in Rio Grande do Sul, which accounts for approximately 90% of the country's wine grape vineyards.

Cantina Pieruccini winery, Caxias do Sul, Brazil, c. 1910. From 1875 on, tens of thousands of Italian immigrants, mostly from northern Italy, settled Brazil's Serra Gaúcha, bringing their winemaking traditions. Small family cantinas like this one laid the foundation of Brazil's modern wine industry.

The most commom reasons: Returned shipments: wine rejected by the buyer, unsold, or failed to clear customs abroad. Customs zone flows: wine moving back from bonded warehouses or free-trade zones gets logged as an import.

likely re-imports