10 Countries Importing The Most Wine Across The World

With over 2 billion gallons shipped between countries in 2018, wine is a global powerhouse in the world’s alcoholic beverage industry.

The state of California is the largest United States wine producer, according to The Wine Institute. The global export and domestic sales of California-produced wine generate $57.6 billion of economic activity for the state alone.

With wine having such a major economic impact, if you live in California, you are likely not far removed from someone employed by the state’s wine industry.

325,000 California citizens and 786,000 people nationwide are employed by the wine economy.

Retail sales and other wine-related activities in California also generate $4.5 billion annually in federal tax and $3.1 billion in local tax revenue.

Although the wine industry is impactful worldwide, the future of global wine production is uncertain. The largest wine producers and importers are on their toes, with factors like global warming and proposed U.S. tariffs on European wines by the Trump administration are elements of the industry’s unpredictable future.

Given the robust impact that wine has on California and the global economy, Benzinga analyzed data from the Statistia Global Survey to determine which countries import the most wine.

The data measures the 10 countries that are importing the most wine by gallons and converts the total value of wine imported into dollars. 

The following are the largest importers of wine globally converted into U.S. dollars. 

10. Japan

• Total volume of wine imported: 68.7 million gallons.
• Total value of wine imported: $1.55 billion.

9. Belgium

• Volume of wine imported: 79.3 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $1.06 billion.

8. Russia

• Volume of wine imported: 108.3 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $1.34 billion.

7. Netherlands

• Volume of wine imported: 111 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $1.27 billion.

6. Canada

• Volume of wine imported: 111 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $1.84 billion.

5. France

• Volume of wine imported: 163.8 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $940 million.

4. China

• Volume of wine imported: 182.3 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $2.63 billion.

3. United States

• Volume of wine imported: 303.8 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $5.71 billion.

2. United Kingdom

• Volume of wine imported: 348.7 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $3.82 billion.

1. Germany

• Volume of wine imported: 383 million gallons.
• Value of wine imported: $2.85 billion.