While the Union remains the global leader in wine production, consumption and exported value, societal and demographic changes are having an impact on the amount, quality, and types of wine consumed. Wine consumption in the Union is at its lowest level in three decades while traditional export markets for Union wines are adversely affected by a combination of decreasing consumption trends and geopolitical factors, leading to more uncertain export patterns. In addition, given the wine sector’s vulnerability to climate change, wine production is becoming unpredictable. The resulting oversupply leads to a decrease in prices, meaning that winegrowers have less income to invest in their businesses and lower financial reserves for them to fall back on if one of the more frequent and often localised severe weather events hits their region.
Text as published in the Official Journal, reproduced verbatim (including any typographical quirks of the source). For the authentic version, see EUR-Lex.
