Top Fifteen Wine-Producing Countries

The International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), the intergovernmental body that tracks wine and grape production worldwide, has released its initial estimates of the 2020 harvest. It calculates that global production will amount to 258 million hectoliters (give or take 4 million).

There had been speculation that 2020 would see disastrously low volumes, primarily due to the covid pandemic. The vines are unaware of the coronavirus, of course, but the year saw challenges involving the availability of vineyard workers, health-related concerns in wineries, slack demand, and a variety of supply chain issues. It now appears that 2020 will probably improve slightly on 2019’s 256 million hectoliters, although it will still be the fourth lowest volume in the past 20 years.

Italy is once again in its usual spot as the world’s largest source of wine, with an estimated production of 47.2 million hl, pretty much equal to 2019’s volume. The three other major wine-producing countries—France, Spain, and the United States—are all expected to exceed the previous year’s output.

(Volume in thousands of hectoliters; e.g., global production is around 258 million hl)

Note: 2020 data are preliminary and are likely to change in future reports.

Source: OIV, October 2020