Against a backdrop of uncertainty, the Bourgogne wine industry is working to maintain its appeal among consumers, from newcomers to connoisseurs who are looking for new experiences. Built on the work of several generations and strategic decisions taken at key moments, some Bourgogne wines are continuing to grow despite intense pressure across the wine market.
The 2025-2026 campaign illustrates this contrast:
➢ Bottled sales of still wines fell by 1.3% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026. Strong white wine sales helped limit the decline, supported in particular by lower market prices. Crémant de Bourgogne, meanwhile, maintained its momentum, with sales up 6.5% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
➢ As a direct consequence of sales during the 2025-2026 campaign, stocks of still wines at the end of July 2026 were down 2.8% compared with the end of July 2025, while remaining slightly above the five-year average. Stocks of Crémant de Bourgogne AOC were stable, up 0.9% over the same period.
➢ Demand varies significantly by AOC and distribution channel. Régionale and Chablis AOCs are driving Bourgogne forward. Despite a challenging backdrop for French AOC wines overall, exports of Bourgogne wines rose by 2.3% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
A Campaign Testing Every Strategy
Sales Supported by Régionale and Chablis AOCs
Far-reaching changes in wine consumption worldwide are having a direct impact on Bourgogne wine sales.
Nevertheless, thanks to its strong focus on white wines, which account for 61% of production, Bourgogne is holding up in still wines: bottled sales were down 1.3% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026, at 166 million bottles. Including Crémant de Bourgogne, sales were stable (+0.05%), with nearly 200 million bottles sold over the period.1
White Wines: Stability That Masks a More Complex Picture
With sales up 0.4% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026, at 116 million bottles, white wines posted a very slight increase. Growth was driven primarily by three groups of appellations: Chablis and Petit Chablis,
Bourgogne and Mâcon Régionale AOCs. Together, they offset declines across other white wines, notably thanks to lower market values.
For white wines, the French market declined by 1.6%. Export markets provided the momentum, with sales up 4.3% in the European Union and 1.9% in non-EU countries, offsetting the decline in France.
Red Wines: A Downturn Affecting Every Appellation Level
The picture is less favourable for red wines, with sales down 4.9% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
The decline extends across the entire appellation hierarchy. Even the Grand Cru AOCs of the Côte d’Or, theoretically protected by their rarity and prestige, recorded a 12% fall over the period.
Exports, where red wine sales fell by 0.7%, were not enough to offset the 7.6% decline in the French market over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
Crémant de Bourgogne Remains the Most Dynamic Appellation
Against this mixed backdrop, Crémant de Bourgogne stands out. Bottled sales rose by 6.5% over the 12 months to the end of July 2026. The AOC now accounts for 17% of the vineyard’s bottled sales volumes, up from 12% in 2021.
Stock Levels Vary by Wine Colour and AOC
At first glance, the reduction in stocks (-2.3% at the end of July 2026) could be seen as a sign of healthy sales momentum. However, the trend is also closely linked to harvest volumes.
For several years, Bourgogne has been dealing with a downward trend in yields, which the 2026 vintage looks set to confirm. In this context, managing availability has become a balancing act between two difficult-to-control factors: harvest volumes and the volumes absorbed by sales.
Several months before the new harvest comes to market, Bourgogne therefore has:
– just over one year of sales in stock for white wines, close to the average of the past five
campaigns
– nearly two years of sales in stock for red wines, above the five-year average
The arrival of the 2026 vintage, which is below the five-year average, will nevertheless change the picture and lead to a reassessment of availability.
In this context, current stocks provide a useful buffer: they should help offset part of the smaller harvest and enable Bourgogne to continue meeting demand without any immediate risk of supply shortages.
Overall, the decline in stocks nevertheless masks contrasting situations by wine colour and appellation.
White Wines: Stocks Begin to Rebalance
White wine stocks remain above pre-2024 averages. The 3.3% decline recorded at the end of July 2026 compared with the end of July 2025 marks only the beginning of a rebalancing after two campaigns characterised by structurally higher stock levels.
This decline reflects contrasting situations:
– Stocks of Mâcon Régionale AOCs fell sharply (-16.1% in July 2026 compared with July 2025), reflecting price adjustments and the small 2024 and 2025 harvests.
– Stocks of Chablis AOCs increased (+4.4% in July 2026), following a 2025 harvest that was significantly larger than in 2024.
Red Wines: Stock Levels Provide a Useful Buffer Ahead of the 2026 Harvest
Red wines tell a very different story. At the end of July 2026, stocks were down 2.1% compared with the end of July 2025. Yet this modest decline follows a particularly small 2025 harvest: red wine production was 11.3% below the five-year average, compared with just 3.3% for white wines.
The small 2025 harvest might therefore have been expected to result in a steeper fall in red wine stocks. Instead, they declined by just 2.1%, almost half the rate of white wine stocks, despite a harvest shortfall nearly four times greater.
This gap reflects the slowdown in red wine sales. But it will prove an advantage in the context of a smaller 2026 harvest.
Crémant de Bourgogne: When Stock Management Becomes an Asset
Crémant de Bourgogne stocks were slightly higher at the end of July 2026, up 0.9% compared with July 2025.
The appellation has an effective management tool that provides visibility both on volumes available for sale during the campaign and on volumes available for subsequent years. It also benefits from a collective reserve built up over previous vintages, providing a safety net available to few other Bourgogne AOCs.
Holding Ground at Home, Exploring New Opportunities Abroad: Bourgogne Wines Strengthen the Posision in Changing Markets
Exports: Bourgogne Wines Keep Growing as Prices Adjust
French wine exports continued to decline, down 2.3% in volume and 4.8% in value over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
Against this challenging backdrop, Bourgogne nevertheless performed well. It shipped 100.2 million bottles outside France, up 2.3%, representing an additional 2.2 million bottles over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
Growth was driven by two out of three colours:
– Crémant de Bourgogne (+2.1 million bottles over the year to the end of July 2026)
– White wines (+1.7 million bottles over the period), particularly Bourgogne Régionale AOCs (+9.4%) and Mâcon Régionale AOCs (+6.2%).
Red wines moved in the opposite direction, losing 1.54 million bottles in export sales. The decline was concentrated in Village AOCs from the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits (-16.8%) and Bourgogne Régionale AOCs (-2.9%).
However, the solid performance in volume came at the expense of value. Export revenue fell by 2.4% over the period to EUR1.63 billion, reflecting a deliberate strategic choice to reposition prices in certain markets.
In the United States, momentum is slowing. The market has been disrupted by tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Stocks built up in 2024-2025 in anticipation of these tariffs are also weighing on growth potential. Bourgogne wine exports fell by 9.8% in volume and 21.2% in value over the 12 months to the end of July 2026.
In Canada, following a very strong 2025, shipments are also slowing, both for French wines overall and for Bourgogne. Bourgogne wine exports declined by 5.1% in volume and 1.3% in value over the period.
The United Kingdom is the exception, with a strong rebound (+13.9% in volume and +3% in value). However, this isolated recovery was not enough to offset the combined decline in Bourgogne’s two leading export markets.
Among the new markets to explore, South Asia offers potential new sources of growth for Bourgogne.
India, following the signing of the trade agreement concluded with the European Union in January 2026, offers opportunities that are worth exploring now. In partnership with the CCIR and the Regional Council, an exploratory mission will therefore travel to India at the end of October, with around a dozen Bourgogne companies taking part.