Despite a general decline in global wine consumption, the total sales volume of Rioja wine increased by 0.63% in 2024, exceeding 240 million liters. Rioja maintained its leadership and competitive advantage in the Spanish domestic market, holding a 30.44% market share. Amidst unfavorable global wine sales and a decline in consumption, Rioja wine achieved a 0.63% increase in sales volume in 2024, with a total of 328,461,466 bottles sold, equivalent to 240,046,448 liters.
In the Spanish domestic market, Nielsen, a professional consulting firm, confirmed that the economic recession continued, with a corresponding decline in national wine consumption. In this context, Rioja sold 141,218,785 liters in the domestic market in 2024, a decrease of 1.87% compared to 2023. Rioja continued to lead in Spain, capturing 26.8% of the market share in terms of volume (compared to 27.1% in 2023) and maintaining its competitive edge, while holding a 30.44% market share in terms of sales value.
The growth of Rioja white wine was particularly notable in the Spanish domestic market, with a year-on-year increase of 1.9%, while previous statistics from Rioja showed that white wine production had already increased by 7.13%.
On the international front, the wine industry and consumption trends were especially unfavorable. According to data from the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV), exports from Spanish DO regions declined by 11.46% from January to November 2024. However, Rioja’s overseas sales volume increased by 4.42%, with 98,827,453 liters sold to 135 countries in 2024. In this way, Rioja enhanced its competitive advantage in exports compared to other regions, becoming a benchmark for Spanish wine exports.
Considering absolute shipments to different markets, the UK, a key market for Rioja, stood out in 2024 with a growth rate of 12%. The US market also deserves attention for its positive development, as it is the second-largest market for Rioja wine exports in terms of value and the third-largest in terms of volume, with a growth rate of 17%. It is also a strategically important market for Rioja. However, some markets, such as Germany (second-ranked) and Ireland (sixth-ranked), experienced declines.
In terms of wine color, the demand for Rioja red wine was particularly strong in foreign markets, with an increase of 5.32%. From a classification perspective, all categories saw growth, with the “Crianza” category showing the highest increase of 8.7%, while the “Gran Reserva” category remained relatively stable.
