Wine production has made a minor recovery after a disastrous 2024 harvest, the industry's international association said Wednesday.

However, it was still 7% below the five-year average as winemakers grapple with effects of climate change on their highly delicate crop.

The 2025 harvest will see some 232 million hectoliters (about 6.1 billion gallons) of wine, up 3% from 2024, which saw the worst output since 1961.

In a statement, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said that the 2025 projections are consistent with "a period of persistently reduced global supply, impacted by climatic challenges and evolving consumption models."

EU producers bearing brunt of climate change

The OIV has representatives from 29 countries, accounting for 85% of global wine production. 

For example, major wine producers like France and Spain recorded very low output as their wine-growing regions become too hot to produce quality grapes. The European Union has traditionally represented about 60% of global wine production.

In the United States, there was only a "partial rebound" from 2024.

Things were slightly better in the southern hemisphere with South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil rebounding more significantly. However, heat waves in Chile negatively impacted that country's harvest.

OIV Director General John Barker said that on top of climate change, winemakers had to acknowledge that people are drinking less than in previous decades, and that a period of high consumption has possibly come to an end.

However, Barker saw the latter as a good thing as it created "more balance between global supply and demand" and "stronger export pricing."

Edited by Sean Sinico