Thanks to its size, wealth and dynamism, the U.S. is the number-one target for almost any exporter — wine included. It is the world’s largest wine market by value and the fourth largest by volume, often allowing higher prices than in Europe. Yet it is highly complex: an intricate threetier distribution system, 50 separate markets with their own taxes and laws, deep cultural diversity, and a mood that reacts sharply to media coverage.
Largest market, falling consumption: #1 by value, but per-capita consumption fell to 9.6 litres (from 11.35 litres); only about a third of Americans drink wine at all.
Oversupply: excess inventory of roughly 1 billion bottles; total stock ~4.6 billion bottles ≈ 18 months of supply. Canada’s collapse (–90% in 2025) pushes another ~190–200 million bottles of U.S. wine back onto the home market.
Volume–value decoupling: volume –2%/yr, yet the average bottle price rose +27% (2019 $9.80 → 2024 $12.50). Premiumisation carries revenue.
Germany small but promising: only 2–3% of imports / 0.7–1.0% of the total market — clear room to grow.
Riesling = Germany: 85–90% of German exports; the “sweet wine” stereotype is the biggest hurdle → lead consistently with Trocken (dry).
Opportunities: dry Riesling & VDP (premium), Spätburgunder, organic/biodynamic, lowalcohol wines, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales and e-commerce.
