France has been outstanding among wine-producing countries in the first quarter, but the USA suffered a major fall in exports.
A Wine Quarterly survey showed healthy growth for French wine exports, which increased by 5.9 percent in volume. Champagne and Bordeaux exports continued to grow.
First quarter exports of Italian wine lifted slightly by volume (2 percent) and 5.4 percent in value against the last quarter of 2016. Sparkling wine was the star performer. Still wine exports to major markets the US, Germany and Switzerland contracted slightly in volume, but sparkling wines jumped 10.8 percent in volume to all markets and 15.1 percent in value.
Canada and China were growth export markets, as was the UK.