Moscato d’Asti fizz soars 55% in China, bucking global slump

Sales of Moscato d’Asti have surged across Asia, fuelled by a 55% boom in China which has become the denomination’s third largest market. This sweetens a tough year for Piedmont wine, with trade damaged by US tariffs and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In 2025, sales of the sweet, Italian fizz Moscato d’Asti leapt by 55% in China, data from the Asti DOCG Consortium has revealed, as reported by Italian news outlet Il Sole 24 Ore. 

This makes the continent the third-largest market for the refreshing sparkling wine from northwest Italy – accounting for nearly a fifth (18%) of total sales internationally. 

The region also saw sales of Asti Spumante, also produced in the Piedmont region, soar by 20% – thanks to robust demand in Japan, the UAE, Kazakhstan and China. 

“In a year full of challenges, there were also positive notes, starting with the clear growth in Asian demand, especially from China, which is taking on significant proportions and is encouraging,” president of the Consortium, Stefano Ricagno, told Il Sole 24 Ore. “We urgently need to broaden our commercial reach”.

These statistics mark a sweet spot amid slumping wine consumption in Asia, and indeed, across the globe. In 2025, imports slid by 2.29% in Japan, 18.6% in Malaysia and 11% in China, for instance, as consumers reign back spending, make healthier decisions. Many of them, reported the drinks business last year, are “no longer drinking out of habit”.

Moscato d’Asti’s piqued popularity can be put down to the fact it slots into current drinking trends: its low ABV, easy drinkability and accessible price tags make it an appealing pick for young consumers.

In China, younger drinkers are shifting from consuming heavy reds with formal meals towards a more casual drinking culture. This, combined with a steadily improving business environment and growing number of trade fairs platforming Italian wines, have helped boost the status of Piedmont wine in the country.

‘The Asian figure is very positive,’ adds Ricagno. ‘In China we went from one million to two million bottles in one year. In South Korea we have sold four to five million. Asia is nothing new, but there is an acceleration. Progress that does not completely compensate us for the losses, but it is a road on which we can work as companies and as a denomination”.

Asked whether sweet wines are gaining ground in Asian countries, Ricagno said they were. However, unlike in Italy where they are normally paired with desserts like Panettone, Asian consumers tend to consume sweet wines throughout the meal.

Despite its success in Asia, 2025 was a “complicated” year for Asti DOCG, squeezed between US tariffs – the main market for Moscato d’Asti – and the conflict in Ukraine, with Russia being the top destination for Asti Spumante.

This led to a 9% drop in global sales volume in large-scale distribution and retail (almost 75 million bottles), according to NielsenIQ data.

“The overall contraction in consumption is worsened by tensions in two markets which alone represent more than 40% of our sales, and that weighed heavily,” the spokesperson added. 

According to the Consortium analysis, Asti Spumante was the hardest hit category (12.4%, at 49.3 million 0.75 L bottles), but Moscato d’Asti also showed a decline of 1.8% (25 million bottles).

The situation is more complex for Asti Spumante, weighed down mainly by plummeting sales in Europe (-14%, -4.2 million bottles sold compared to 2024) and the U.S. (-50%, -2.6 million bottles), even before Russia, where the drop is contained at -3% with 14.1 million bottles sold.

Several key European destinations are also turning their backs on Asti Spumante. These include (-13%), Germany (-49%) and Poland (-26%), while in the East, Hungary and Lithuania are showing good growth.

Related news

Bordeaux and Hong Kong toast a five-year future

Sicilia DOC to capitalise on 'The White Lotus effect'

China is rebuilding its on-trade around a new kind of drinker