While the global market for no and low alcohol wines accelerates, Italy remains at the post. The Italian Wine Union (UIV) urges the government: without the Mef-Masaf implementing decree, dealcolation in our country is still effectively banned, despite investments already initiated by companies.
A decree that has been awaited for months
The Italian deal wine sector is still waiting for a regulatory breakthrough. Urging it is the UIV, which, in a letter sent to the Ministries of Agriculture and Economy, calls for the urgent adoption of the Mef-Masaf interministerial decree. It is necessary to make operational the fiscal discipline provided for in Decree-Law No. 84 of June 17, 2025, on “Urgent provisions on fiscal matters.”
The measure has reportedly been held up at the State General Accounting Office for more than two months. Effectively blocking the start of dealcolated wine production in the country.
Investment already made, but production still banned
Meanwhile, many Italian wineries have already invested significantly. Both in terms of infrastructure-with the purchase and installation of dealcolation equipment-and in terms of staff training and product positioning in the market.
“We have long been asking the government to allow us to operate on a level competitive playing field with other European producers,” . Said UIV Secretary General Paolo Castelletti. “Our competitors have been benefiting for four years from the opportunities introduced by the 2021 EU Regulation. Italian companies are ready, but today deal-making in Italy is still prohibited.”
No-Lo: one of the few growing segments
The regulatory lag weighs even more heavily when compared with market trends. According to the UIV Observatory, the No-Lo (no and low alcohol) segment represents one of the very few growing segments in a complex global scenario for wine.
The global market for No-Lo products-which includes dealcolates-is worth $2.4 billion today. It is expected to reach 3.3 billion by 2028. With a compound annual growth rate (Cagr 2024-2028) of 8 percent in value and 7 percent in volume.
Alcohol-free accelerating in key markets
Driving the category are mainly alcohol-free wines. According to Uiv elaborations on NielsenIQ data, zero-degree wines experienced exponential growth in the first 9 months of the year in the major retail markets of Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In Germany, volumes mark +46%, with a 5% share of total No-Lo. The UK, growth is +20%, with a share rising to 23%. In the US, the increase is +18%, with a 17% share of the low-alcohol category.
The Italian paradox: good abroad, but not at home
A particularly significant finding concerns Italian alcohol-free wines, which – since they cannot be produced in Italy – are made abroad. Despite this, they perform positively in international markets.
In the UK they register +6% in volume and +10% in value, while in the US they grow +17% in volume and +24% in value.
>>The Italian share accounts for 6 percent of zero-degree wine sales in the U.S., rises to11 percent in Germany and reaches 24 percent< /strong > in the British market.
Numbers that tell of concrete potential, today held back more by bureaucracy than by the market.
