For years, China has been the great promise of world wine: the market capable of absorbing Italian, French, Australian and Californian bottles, transforming them into symbols of prestige, success and power. Now that pattern has broken. The new crackdown wanted by Xi Jinping against waste, ostentation and consumption of alcohol at official events is emptying one of the most profitable markets for foreign producers.
The slowdown in consumption in China adds to the Party’s new internal discipline campaign: in May 2025 Beijing tightened the rules on sobriety, banning alcohol, cigarettes and luxury dishes at official meals. For a market in which wine had also grown thanks to formal dinners, corporate gifts and personal relationships, it is a very hard blow.
According to the Wall Street Journalin 2025 wine imports into China fell again by 11% and today the market is worth around half of the peak reached in 2018. According to the Wall Street Journal that of Bordeaux is among the most affected areas: exports to China have collapsed by 28% in the last year and since 2023 the region has lost around 20% of its vineyard area. As regards Italian wine, the drop in values exceeds -15%. Meanwhile, even the large alcohol groups continue to report weakness in China: Pernod Ricard, in its 2025 results, indicated the Chinese market among the factors in the decline in sales, while Diageo recorded a -9% of net sales in 2025.
The lesson for world wine is simple and brutal: betting on Chinese thirst as compensation for the decline in consumption in Europe and in mature markets is no longer enough. Because the problem is not just the economic situation, but a change in the political and cultural climate. If wine stops being the symbol of success at the tables that matter, then the backlash is not temporary.
We drink less and less and this kills more jobs than AI