That dollar amount reflects a 19.5% gain from the $6.2 billion that the US spent on overall wine imports 5 years earlier in 2017, and a 25.5% year-over-year boost from 2020 to 2021.
Wine is the world’s second-most popular alcoholic beverage behind beer but ahead of vodka. The beverage also called vino is also the seventh-most consumer drink on the planet. Wine trails water, tea, coffee, orange juice, beer and soft drinks.
America’s most popular type of imported wine are sparkling vintages made from fresh grapes. Sparkling wine comprised over a quarter (25.9 percent) of all US purchases of imported wine in 2021.
Sales of foreign-made sparkling wines to the US increased by 52.8 percent since 2017 and accelerated by 46.4 percent from 2020 to 2021.
From a continent perspective, well over three-quarters (78 percent)) of US global purchases of imported wine came from exporters in Europe. Wines from Europe are also known as Old World Wines.
In second place were suppliers in Oceania (12 percent) specifically New Zealand and Australia. Wines from comparatively younger countries like New Zealand, Australia and the United States are called New World Wines.
Smaller percentages were shipped from Latin America (7.4 percent) excluding Mexico, Africa (0.94 percent), North America (0.85%) and Asia (0.7 percent).
Main Countries Supplying Wine to American Importers
Below are the top 20 countries from which the United States bought 99.4 percent of its overall spending on wine in 2020.
Old World Wine meccas France and Italy are America’s leading wine suppliers collecting roughly two-thirds (67.7 percent) of US total payments for imported wine in 2021.
- France: US$2.6 billion (up 47.9% from 2020)
- Italy: $2.4 billion (up 17.7%)
- New Zealand: $573.1 million (up 12.8%)
- Spain: $433.4 million (up 30.5%)
- Australia: $314.8 million (down -8.6%)
- Argentina: $276.6 million (up 3.5%)
- Chile: $261.4 million (up 6.2%)
- Portugal: $143.6 million (up 19.4%)
- Germany: $89.2 million (up 28.9%)
- South Africa: $69.4 million (up 28.5%)
- Canada: $58.3 million (up 46.6%)
- Israel: $40.1 million (up 36.5%)
- Austria: $30 million (up 37.3%)
- Greece: $17 million (up 63.5%)
- United Kingdom: $8.3 million (up 486.8%)
- Slovenia: $5.3 million (up 51.8%)
- Georgia: $4.9 million (up 24%)
- Moldova: $4.8 million (up 66.8%)
- Denmark: $4.67 million (up 3,077%)
- Mexico: $4.66 million (up 70.4%)
Posting the strongest percentage increases in their wine sales to the US from 2020 to 2021 were suppliers in Denmark (up 3,077 percent) and the UK (up 486.8 percent).
Other major gains were realized by wine shippers in Mexico (up 70.4 percent), Moldova (up 66.8 percent), Greece (up 63.5 percent), Slovenia (up 51.8 percent), France (up 47.9 percent) and Canada (up 46.6 percent).
Year over year, the sole loser in terms of selling wine to the US were New World Wine suppliers in Australia via a -8.6 percent drop from 2020 to 2021.
Major US Wine Suppliers by Shipment Volume
In terms of the physical amount of wine shipped to buyers in the United States in 2021, the top 3 international suppliers are Italy, Canada and France.
Collectively, that trio of leading suppliers of fermented grape drinks imported by the US by total volume attracted almost three-fifths (57 percent) of America’s spending on global wine imports during 2021.
Below are the top 20 countries that furnished America with the highest amounts of wine by volume.
- Italy: 385,592 cubic meters of wine (up 12.5% from 2020)
- Canada: 207,104 cubic meters (up 25.9%)
- France: 200,566 cubic meters (up 25.9%)
- Chile: 161,586 cubic meters (up 9.9%)
- Australia: 107,917 cubic meters (down -19.4%)
- New Zealand: 87,316 cubic meters (up 8.6%)
- Spain: 79,929 cubic meters (up 25%)
- Argentina: 62,474 cubic meters (up 3.9%)
- South Africa: 29,130 cubic meters (up 63.2%)
- Portugal: 27,842 cubic meters (up 10.8%)
- Germany: 18,380 cubic meters (up 9%)
- Austria: 4,590 cubic meters (up 27.4%)
- Israel: 3,741 cubic meters (up 24.8%)
- Greece: 2,410 cubic meters (up 50.3%)
- Moldova: 1,795 cubic meters (up 68.9%)
- Slovenia: 1,036 cubic meters (up 35.1%)
- Brazil: 939 cubic meters (up 17.8%)
- Bulgaria: 776 cubic meters (up 67.6%)
- Georgia: 739 cubic meters (up 16.2%)
- Hungary: 738 cubic meters (up 2.8%)
As measured by volume, the listed top 20 suppliers furnished 99.5 percent of US wine imports.
Among America’s top wine suppliers by volume, the fastest-growing provider of wine from 2020 to 2021 as measured in cubic meters are Moldova (up 68.9 percent) and Bulgaria (67.6 percent). In third place were wine exporters in South Africa (up 63.2 percent) ahead of Greece (up 50.3 percent), Slovenia (up 35.1 percent) then Austria (up 27.4 percent).
Year over year, the lone volume decliner in terms of supplying wine to the US was Australia weighed down by a -19.4 percent slowdown.
Lowest and Highest Unit Prices for US Imported Wine
The average unit price encompassing all wine imported into America in 2021 was US$5,299 per cubic meter.
US imported wine’s average unit price is roughly three times higher than the average $1,430 per cubic meter charged for America’s imported beer.
America’s mean price for imported wine rose by 3.8 percent since 2017 and increased by 10.9 percent from 2020 to 2021.
For France, the number one supplier of US wine imports, was $13,063 per cubic meter–an amount far greater the global average for US imported wine. That fact suggests that wine from France represents higher-value vintages and that American consumers are willing to pay comparably more for Old World Wines imported from France.
Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the 10 top wine suppliers charging the least expensive average unit prices paid by American wine importers.
- Poland: US$8,333 per cubic meter of wine (up 387.9% from 2021)
- Bolivia: $8,500 (down -8.1%)
- Croatia: $8,881 (down -3.2%)
- Mexico: $9,121 (up 21.1%)
- Palestine: $9,333 (down -2.5%)
- Czech Republic: $9,338 (down -25.7%)
- Bosnia/Herzegovina: $9,364 (up 67.2%)
- Cyprus: $9,963 (up 1.3%)
- Andorra: $10,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Israel: $10,706 (up 9.4%)
Posting the strongest reductions in average unit price per cubic meter of US imported wine from 2020 to 2021 were low-cost exporters in the Czech Republic (down -25.7 percent) and Bolivia (down -8.1 percent).
The following top 10 countries quenching US thirst for imported wine while charging American importers the highest average unit prices.
- Hong Kong: US$129,500 per cubic meter of wine (up 31.5% from 2021)
- United Kingdom: $32,786 (up 733.6%)
- Japan: $26,600 (down -54.9%)
- Sweden: $22,000 (down -42.1%)
- China: $15,917 (up 0.5%)
- Denmark: $14,503 (down -80.3%)
- France: $13,062 (up 17.5%)
- Slovakia: $12,033 (up 10.6%)
- Belize: $12,000 (2020 data unavailable)
- Lebanon: $10,919 (down -9.5%)
Double-digit increases in average unit prices above for 2021 compared to 2020 were paid by US importers for wine delivered from the UK, Hong Kong and France.
See also US Imported Beer Ranked by Suppliers & Average Prices, Wine Exports by Country, Top Wine Importing Countries, America’s Top Trading Partners, United States Top 10 Imports and US Aluminum Imports by Supplying Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 8, 2022
Haley’s Daily Blog, 9 Most Consumed Beverages Around the World. Accessed on May 8, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 8, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 8, 2022