Despite falling consumption, tariffs and economic uncertainty, the United States remains a market Italian wine producers cannot afford to abandon. The watchword for wineries is presence: meeting importers and distributors, staying close to commercial partners, promoting their appellations and educating consumers.

That was the message at Vinitaly.USA, which held its third edition in New York for the first time, after two previous events in Chicago. The trade show brought together 300 companies and drew about 3,000 attendees from 20 U.S. states and 40 countries. The event underscored the importance of the American market at a time when the industry is facing a challenging period.

For Piedmont, the stakes are particularly high. The United States is the region’s leading wine market. According to data from Nomisma, it accounts for nearly a quarter of exports of Piedmont’s red wines with protected designation of origin (PDO) status. Those wines, in turn, represent nearly 40% of the region’s bottled-wine exports.

Piedmont has 45,887 hectares of vineyards and produces 2.5 million hectoliters of wine, or 6% of Italy’s total. In 2025, the value of its wine exports reached €1.2 billion. In the first half of 2026, exports totaled €566 million, up 2.4% from the same period a year earlier. The figures demonstrate the international strength of Piedmont’s wine industry, but they do not shield it from the difficulties facing the U.S. market.

According to estimates from the Italian Wine Union (UIV), U.S. wine consumption is expected to decline by about 7% this year, marking a sixth consecutive annual drop. Italian wine is forecast to fall by 5%, while sparkling wine is the only category expected to post growth, albeit a modest 1%. Italy remains the leading supplier by volume, with a 30% market share, and ranks second by value, at 33%, behind France. An estimated 35 million Americans drink Italian wine.

“The past two years have been extremely challenging,” says Chiara Soldati, who runs La Scolca, a winery in Gavi that produces just under one million bottles.

“Our strategy is to maintain a presence in the market, work one-on-one with buyers and distributors, explain the value of our appellations and encourage visits to our winery. We also want to offer a younger, more dynamic approach, focusing on wines that are enjoyable and approachable. That is how we plan to counter declining consumption while maintaining our position in the United States, the region’s leading export market.”

For Soldati, Vinitaly.USA is also an opportunity to present Piedmont’s wine industry as a united front. “It is important to show up together, as an industry determined to keep promoting Italy.”

Alessandro Varagnolo of Cadgal, a winery whose business is concentrated mainly in California and Florida, shares that approach. “California is more or less in line with last year, while Florida is lagging a little behind.”

The challenge, he explains, also lies in distributors’ cautious approach. “Even though our wines have a strong identity, distributors are quite reluctant to take on new wineries, even when they offer high-quality products.”

Cadgal produces about 80,000 bottles of Moscato, and Varagnolo is also looking toward Asia. “Thailand, Malaysia and India are markets with interesting potential, but you have to invest heavily in consumer education. Moscato can pair very well with local cuisines.”

Andrea Alpiste of Terrabianca, a winery in Mango, in the province of Cuneo, also considers the United States its main foreign market. The winery produces about 120,000 bottles a year, with exports accounting for 80% of total sales. The U.S. market absorbs about 30% of its production.

“Our business in the United States really took off in 2020 and 2021. We are now present in five states and growing slightly, by around 1% to 2%,” Alpiste says.

He also points to changing drinking habits. “The way people eat and drink is different from what it was 20 years ago. Wine should not lose its identity, but it needs to become more accessible, with more immediate, easy-to-enjoy products that can appeal to younger consumers.”

He adds: “Wine is an agricultural product. We shouldn’t treat it as a ‘divinity,’ as something above us.”

Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante are also central to the work of the Asti Consortium. “About 60% of our exported production goes to the United States, our main destination market,” says Giacomo Pondini, the consortium’s director. “The American market has always shown us that these wines appeal to a broad range of consumers.”

Demand, however, has fallen significantly over the past five years. The challenge now is to create new occasions for consumption while exploring opportunities in other markets, particularly in Asia.

From January through July this year, China recorded strong growth in imports of wines from the Asti DOCG appellation. Shipments of Asti Spumante rose 105% year over year, from 202,000 to 451,000 bottles, while Moscato d’Asti shipments increased 108%, from 957,000 to 2 million bottles. Overall exports to China climbed 108%, reaching approximately 2.5 million bottles.

The surge made China the appellation’s fourth-largest export market, after the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom.