US importers stockpile Italian Prosecco as a hedge against possible Trump tariffs

By PAOLO SANTALUCIA, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — American importers person been stockpiling Italian bubbly Prosecco arsenic a hedge against the imaginable interaction of tariffs threatened by President Donald Trump, vino manufacture information show.

U.S. imports of Italian sparkling vino — 90% of that Prosecco — skyrocketed by 41% successful November, aft Trump’s election, acold exceeding user request arsenic importers filled the pipeline for aboriginal sales, according to the Union of Italian Wines commercialized association.

A sommelier opens Prosecco bottles during a vino investigating successful Asolo, Italy, Monday, Oct. 15, 2018. Global income of prosecco the smooth, drinkable sparkling vino rooted successful the northeastern hills of Italy are booming, and champagne, the archetypal bubbly, is taking note. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

“It was rather earthy astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth to bash other shipments,” said the commercialized relation president, Lamberto Frescobaldi, fixed the uncertainty implicit whether tariffs would deed Italian wines oregon not — and the likelihood consumers would chopped backmost connected specified luxuries if tariffs made them excessively pricey.

“Can we past without a solid of wine? Yes. Wine is simply a pleasure,’’ Frescobaldi told The Associated Press this week.

Italian wines were not deed by tariffs during the archetypal Trump presidency, and nary tariffs person been announced to day against European partners. Still, Prosecco importers and distributors are taking precautionary measures to support the market.

Italy exports astir one-quarter of its vino to the United States, leaving the assemblage much heavy exposed to imaginable tariffs than immoderate different Italian export, according to the commercialized federation. Last year, Italy’s vino exports to the U.S. totaled $1.97 billion.

Prosecco became the top-selling Italian vino successful the United States past year, representing astir 40% of each sales.

The archetypal signs of marketplace interest showed up adjacent earlier Trump was elected, with Prosecco shipments to the United States expanding 17% successful the archetypal 10 months of 2024. That compares with much humble single-digit increases to the adjacent 2 markets, Britain and Germany, and acold outpacing U.S. depletion which roseate conscionable 0.6% successful the period.

“It is an important fig that we did not expect,” said Giancarlo Guidolin, president of Prosecco DOC consortium, the largest of Italy’s 3 Prosecco-producing consortia. ”We deliberation determination was an summation of merchandise successful the warehouse.”

One different origin successful the higher deliveries whitethorn person been a threatened larboard onslaught successful January, said Dina Opici, chairwoman of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

“That said, evidently taking into information that determination could beryllium impending tariffs arsenic well, I deliberation it astir apt gave radical a higher comfortableness level successful making that investment,” Opici said.

Silvia Stellaci successful Rome and Colleen Barry successful Milan contributed to this report.