Americans are stocking up on Italian prosecco en masse, and this is why

Americans are stocking up on prosecco from Italy en masse now that Donald Trump is once again the big boss of America. The reason: fear of the possible additional import duties Trump wants to impose on European (sparkling) wine.

If Trump’s plans go ahead, Italian prosecco, and every other (sparkling) wine from Europe, will probably suddenly become a lot more expensive.

Prosecco panic

As early as November 2024, when Trump emerged as the winner of the US presidential election, purchasing figures for Italian prosecco in America shot up. No less than 41% more prosecco from Italy was bought than usual. That was well before Trump took the reins in January 2025. According to Lamberto Frescobaldi, chairman of the association of Italian wines, imports had already been rising before November 2024. Between January and October 2024, sales had already increased by 17% compared with the previous year. A port strike in January 2024 may have played a role, but the association believes there was already panic about Trump’s possible import measures at that time.

A cellar full of prosecco

Italy exports a lot of wine to the US: in 2023, worth as much as 2 billion. Prosecco is even the best-selling Italian wine there. What will the future look like for American prosecco lovers if Trump’s import duties go ahead? It’s only logical that people are stocking up like crazy now; I would also consider getting an extra prosecco cellar.

In any case, it is a good sign that prosecco is still being drunk so much. You can’t say the same about champagne…

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Source: AP News