Vineyards and the vine are where wine’s story begins: influencing the terroir and character of each bottle.
But the global vineyard map is being reshaped with two key factors: declining wine consumption, and climate events.
Vineyard coverage
Global vineyard surface area declined 0.8% in 2025 compared to 2024, reaching 7 million hectares, according to the latest figures published by OIV last week.
“While relatively minor, this is the sixth consecutive year that the world vineyard area has decreased in size as vine growing countries adjust to changing consumption patterns,” explained John Barker, OIV Director General.
That change in consumption patterns refers to a decrease in wine consumption: falling 2.7% in 2025 (on the back of many years of declines).
And with less wine being consumed, wineries and vineyards are shutting down.
Nowhere is this more evident that in France, where the government has created a €130m aid package to fund the uprooting of vineyards.
Addressed at dealing with over-production, this strategy hopes to maintain the competitiveness and value of the rest of the country’s sizeble wine industry, which supports 440,000 jobs.
Global vineyards
Grapes are the most widely planted fruit crop in the world: 99 countries have vineyards and produce wine. And it’s the top crop in terms of value.
Production, however, is concentrated in six key countries: which make up 55% of global vineyards. These countries are: Spain, France, China, Italy, the USA and Turkey.
Spain has the largest vineyard area, at 919,000 hectares, followed by France at 740,000 hectares.
Severe weather events are another factor. As in 2023 and 2024, early fronts, excessive rainfall and prolonged drought affected vineyard productivity across many major wine-producing regions across the world.
In the EU, (which accounts for around 60% of world wine production), climactic variability has had a huge impact: with vineyards facing a wide range of weather-related disruption.
Some areas have experienced severe drought and heat stress; while others have suffered from excessive rainfall and destructive storms.
Portugal, for example, has suffered from both: swings from record rainfall to intense heat fuelled disease outbreaks and drought stress in 2025: resulting in the lowest production since 2011.
Climate change & wine: The global map of changing wine regions
As much of 90% of coastal and low-altitude regions in Europe and California may struggle to make a success of wine-growing in the future, according to a recent study.
But, on every continent, there will be 'winners and losers'.
New regions such as British Columbia in Canada, Washington State in the US, and Tasmania in Australia could become increasingly important.
Breaking trends: India and the UK
In contrast to global trends, India’s vineyard area has been expanding: with an average annual growth rate of 4.6% since 2019.
And, in fact, the total area under vines has now reached 197,000 hectares: making it the seventh largest in the world, according to OIV’s data (it still, however, only accounts for 2.8% of global vineyard surface area).
While India may not have the same wine heritage as nations like France, Spain or Italy, it could have a bright future. The rise of an urban middle class is driving an increase in consumer interest, with plenty of runway for growth (in a market dominated by beer, wine accounts for less than 1% of India’s alcoholic beverage market).
A lot of wine is currently imported, but attracts high import duties: again opening up an opportunity for domestic production.
The UK’s wine market is also facing a shake-up. Like India, the country has traditionally been a large importer of wine (#2 in value terms and #3 in volume terms), coming from France, South Africa and beyond. But this declined 6% in 2025, mainly attributed to the change in alcohol duty (affecting higher ABV wines). Consumption, too, is down 2.4%.
But shifts in climate are making the country much more favourable for vineyards: particularly in the south. This is opening up a new opportunity for English wines: with vineyard area increasing dramatically over the last decade.
