Madeira is world famous and for many years the wine travelled around the world and formed a major part of the North Atlantic trading economy. In 1700 -1775 Madeira wine represented 75% of the wine imports into Anglo-America.[1] Of course it is well known that the Declaration of Independence of the USA was toasted with Madeira wine.
So do Americans still drink Madeira wine, well yes, they do and this post looks at where else Madeira wine is consumed. Again, we use data from IVBAM and make some analysis of what is happening in these markets.
Domestic market vis a vis Export market performance
Volume Analysis: Madeira vs Rest of World (2015–2024)[2]
Extracted Volumes
Madeira (domestic consumption)
2015: 440,683 Litres
2024: 527,080 Litres
Global Total (all markets including Madeira)
2015: 3,329,995 Litres
2024: 3,136,832 Litres
Rest of World (RoW) = Total – Madeira
2015 RoW: 3,329,995-440,683 = 2,889,312 Litres
2024 RoW: 3,136,832-527,080 = 2,609,752 Litres
As can be seen there is strong growth in consumption of Madeira wines on the island of Madeira, despite the impact of the 2020 global pandemic drop in volumes of 62.5% and a stuttering recovery in subsequent years. Export volumes declined by 17.1% with an incomplete recovery by 2024.
Absolute Volume Change (2015 to 2024)
Madeira
2015 Volume: 440,683 L
2024 Volume: 527,080 L
Change: +86,397 L
Interpretation: Strong domestic growth.
Rest of World
2015 Volume: 2,889,312 L
2024 Volume: 2,609,752 L
Change: –279,560 L
Interpretation: Significant export contraction.
Global Total
2015 Volume: 3,329,995 L
2024 Volume: 3,136,832 L
Change: –193,163 L
Interpretation: Overall decline driven entirely by exports.
Madeira’s domestic market grew, while the rest of the world shrank sharply.
What’s Really Happening
The Madeira domestic market is Growing steadily at +2.0% CAGR and added 86,000k litres over the decade and therefore is increasing in importance. This trend is a function of Madeira’s success as a tourist destination.
For exports to the rest of world, there is a loss of volume of 280,000 litres in the same period. This translates into -1.1% CAGR. This is a notable structural decline in exports. The decline is most notable in France, UK, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden
Madeira’s domestic market is offsetting part of the export decline, but not enough to reverse the global total. The domestic share of total volume is rising:
Domestic share of commercialisation 2015 – 2024
2015: 13.2% of global volume
2024: 16.8% of global volume
This is a 3.6‑point gain in share, driven by tourism and mediated by export contraction. However, all is not well, as noted below as the ultimate conundrum, the consumption and appreciation of Madeira wines is not travelling home with tourists very effectively and that tourists are consuming less Madeira wine per head when visiting the island. It is the growth of tourist numbers (forecast to grow by + 6% CAGR 2026-2030) that is driving consumption.
Summary Table
Madeira
2015 Volume: 440,683 L
2024 Volume: 527,080 L
Absolute Change: +86,397 L
CAGR: +2.0%
Share 2015: 13.2%
Share 2024: 16.8%
Rest of World
2015 Volume: 2,889,312 L
2024 Volume: 2,609,752 L
Absolute Change: –279,560 L
CAGR: –1.1%
Share 2015: 86.8%
Share 2024: 83.2%
Global Total
2015 Volume: 3,329,995 L
2024 Volume: 3,136,832 L
Absolute Change: –193,163 L
CAGR: –0.7%
Share 2015: 100%
Share 2024: 100%
Top 10 Declining markets: 2015–2024, by CAGR[3]
(Exports only — Madeira Island excluded)
Ranking most negative CAGR to least negative
1. Switzerland
2015 Volume: 102,401 L
2024 Volume: 55,758 L
CAGR: –6.0%
Interpretation: Significant long-term contraction.
2. Sweden
2015 Volume: 81,836 L
2024 Volume: 54,870 L
CAGR: –4.3%
Interpretation: Nordic fortified category weakening.
3. UK
2015 Volume: 310,470 L
2024 Volume: 225,794 L
CAGR: –3.5%
Interpretation: Brexit + fortified wines decline.
4. Finland
2015 Volume: 13,026 L
2024 Volume: 9,584 L
CAGR: –3.3%
Interpretation: Consistent downward trend.
5. Belgium
2015 Volume: 175,789 L
2024 Volume: 130,779 L
CAGR: –3.2%
Interpretation: Mature market in structural decline.
6. France
2015 Volume: 1,130,563 L
2024 Volume: 853,588 L
CAGR: –3.0%
Interpretation: Still #1 market, but steadily shrinking.
7. Denmark
2015 Volume: 50,982 L
2024 Volume: 42,706 L
CAGR: –1.9%
Interpretation: Softening but not collapsing.
8. Germany
2015 Volume: 290,202 L
2024 Volume: 253,918 L
CAGR: –1.5%
Interpretation: Stable but slowly eroding.
9. Japan
2015 Volume: 284,604 L
2024 Volume: 255,821 L
CAGR: –1.2%
Interpretation: Decline pre-Covid; recovery post-2021.
10. Brazil
2015 Volume: 10,056 L
2024 Volume: 10,519 L
CAGR: ≈0%
Interpretation: Essentially flat; tiny CAGR.
Top 10 Decliners (2015–2024) — Re‑Ranked by Absolute Volume Loss[4]
This ranking ignores CAGR and sorts purely by volume lost between 2015 and 2024.
Ranked by absolute decline (largest to smallest)
1. France
2015 Volume: 1,130,563 L
2024 Volume: 853,588 L
Absolute Loss: –276,975 L
Interpretation: Structural decline despite remaining #1 market.
2. UK
2015 Volume: 310,470 L
2024 Volume: 225,794 L
Absolute Loss: –84,676 L
Interpretation: Brexit? + fortified category erosion.
3. Belgium
2015 Volume: 175,789 L
2024 Volume: 130,779 L
Absolute Loss: –45,010 L
Interpretation: Mature market in long-term decline.
4. Switzerland
2015 Volume: 102,401 L
2024 Volume: 55,758 L
Absolute Loss: –46,643 L
Interpretation: Deep contraction over the decade.
5. Sweden
2015 Volume: 81,836 L
2024 Volume: 54,870 L
Absolute Loss: –26,966 L
Interpretation: Fortified category weakening.
6. Germany
2015 Volume: 290,202 L
2024 Volume: 253,918 L
Absolute Loss: –36,284 L
Interpretation: Large market but slowly eroding.
7. Japan
2015 Volume: 284,604 L
2024 Volume: 255,821 L
Absolute Loss: –28,783 L
Interpretation: Decline pre-Covid; partial recovery.
8. Denmark
2015 Volume: 50,982 L
2024 Volume: 42,706 L
Absolute Loss: –8,276 L
Interpretation: Soft decline.
9. Finland
2015 Volume: 13,026 L
2024 Volume: 9,584 L
Absolute Loss: –3,442 L
Interpretation: Consistent downward trend.
10. Brazil
2015 Volume: 10,056 L
2024 Volume: 10,519 L
Absolute Loss: +463 L
Interpretation: Essentially flat; tiny net gain.
Note: Brazil technically gains slightly, but since it was in the original “decliners” list, it is included for completeness.
Where is the decline happening
The French market
Authorized volumes (low price point wines) are heavily concentrated in France, reflecting the historic role of Madeira in cooking (Sauce Madère and related uses). As low‑end Authorized wines decline, this contraction is led by France, while other markets shift relatively more toward premium drinking categories.
France, historically the biggest buyer of low‑end Madeira (often for cooking), is switching to cheaper substitutes and buying more premium Madeira for drinking, but in smaller volumes.
The UK market
Brexit has made trade with EU countries much more difficult and for low volume products the paperwork requirements now needed have either forced up prices or eaten into margins making the market less attractive to specialist wine shippers in Europe.
Supermarket listings of Madeira wines are patchy. Large Tesco and Sainsbury stores typically list 1 Madeira wine, usually a Tinta Negra wine at the sweet end of the spectrum. Waitrose, a more up market retail chain offers a Tinta Negra and Malvasia wine at present, both sweet.
Promotions of Madeira wine tend to be at Christmas. Fortified wines principally Sherry and Port have seen a long term secular decline in Christmas sales since the 1990s and show no sign of recovering the once very significant volumes of sweet Sherry once sold in the UK for Christmas. This trend can be applied to Madeira wine sales in the UK over many decades.
This long term trend and the desire for a drier style of wine have also impacted upon Madeira. Marsala wine from Italy is the “cooking wine” of choice in many UK Supermarkets.
Increasingly Madeira wine is distributed through independent wine merchants (often online). Many wine merchants once had their own label of Madeira wine bottled, as did Berry Brothers and Rudd, now sadly discontinued.
The Spanish Sherry producers ae planning to address the UK market with a range of drier styles of wine given the ranging decisions being made by more mid and upper market wine retailers such as Majestic Wines who are listing Sherry wines and giving them greater shelf presence and prominence.
If we use Sherry consumption patterns as a proxy for Madeira consumption patterns in the UK[5] it would mean Madeira drinkers are predominantly aged 55 onwards, who drinks more traditional wine styles, but values heritage categories and purchases habitually rather than exploring trends.
Engagement with Madeira wine among 40–54 years old (Gen X) is moderate, Gen X is more open to premium categories and food‑pairing wines, so they represent the next most important segment and must be viewed as the future for Madeira wine consumption in the UK.
Engagement among 18–39 is very low, these younger drinkers prefer spirits, cocktails, beer, and lighter still wines. They rarely buy fortified wines unless introduced via restaurants or education and as we discussed in post 1 see wine as occasional and social rather than habitual. This matches the broader decline in fortified wine consumption among younger UK consumers.
The UK of course has several Madeira enthusiasts and collectors who are well served by upscale wine merchants.
Top 10 Growing markets: (2015–2024), by CAGR
(Exports only — Madeira Island excluded)
Ranked strictly by CAGR (highest → lowest)
1. China
2015 Volume: 3,062 L
2024 Volume: 37,854 L
CAGR: +32.0%
Interpretation: Huge pre-Covid boom; partial recovery still yields a high CAGR.
2. Korea
2015 Volume: 1,810 L
2024 Volume: 9,300 L
CAGR: +19.4%
Interpretation: Small base, but sustained multi-year growth.
3. Canada
2015 Volume: 21,846 L
2024 Volume: 34,886 L
CAGR: +5.4%
Interpretation: Quiet but meaningful growth.
4. Czech Republic
2015 Volume: 3,293 L
2024 Volume: 5,157 L
CAGR: +5.1%
Interpretation: Small but steady growth.
5. Italy
2015 Volume: 5,393 L
2024 Volume: 8,276 L
CAGR: +4.8%
Interpretation: Small but consistent growth.
6. Austria
2015 Volume: 33,201 L
2024 Volume: 48,807 L
CAGR: +4.4%
Interpretation: Volatile but upward overall.
7. USA
2015 Volume: 159,081 L
2024 Volume: 210,088 L
CAGR: +3.1%
Interpretation: Volatile but structurally growing.
8. Netherlands
2015 Volume: 52,851 L
2024 Volume: 69,474 L
CAGR: +3.0%
Interpretation: Strong 2024 rebound lifts CAGR.
9. Poland
2015 Volume: 14,691 L
2024 Volume: 17,264 L
CAGR: +1.8%
Interpretation: Erratic but net positive.
10. Ireland
2015 Volume: 2,561 L
2024 Volume: 2,910 L
CAGR: +1.4%
Interpretation: Small, stable growth.
The US market
The importance of the US market stands out and is growing steadily. The US has two Indigenous wine importers who market their own brand of Madeira. The Rare Wine Company and Broadbent. The Rare Wine Company wines are produced by Barbeito and Justino produces Broadbent Madeira wines.
Research indicates that much of the growth is coming from premium wines[6] and is forecast to continue to grow for the next 10 years at 4.3% to 5% CAGR[7] .
Demand is driven by premiumisation along with a move towards drier styles of wines, (a recurring theme in these posts) has seen the increase in popularity/commercialisation of Sercial and Verdelho wines.
Another quirk of the USA market is the importance of Rainwater Madeira wine. This is a light style of Madeira that has strong historical provenance in the USA. Once a young Verdelho wine, now a young Tinta Negra based wine. This wine style is medium to off dry and quite light and refreshing for a Madeira wine.
The USA has a larger number of high net worth individuals that are collectors of Madeira wines and this is underpinned by the strong historical resonance of Madeira wine in the USA and its history.
The Chinese market
The Chinese wine market declined massively between 2017 and 2023.[8] The good news for Madeira is that the Premium market for wines is increasing[9] and Madeira wines provenance packaging (dates and ages etc.) bode well. Madeira needs to get its message through and it would be my advice to use Duty Free outlets to build and burnish its reputation to rich travellers.
The Japanese market
The good news is that Madeira wine consumption is forecast to grow in Japan with a 5.8% CAGR 2026 -2033.[10] In 2024, there was a sharp increase (+43.7% in quantities and +27.8% in value),[11] indicating a turnaround. In recent years the Japanese Yen has been weak, making imports expensive and this may well have impacted on Madeira wine exports. Barbeito has a joint venture with Kinoshita International dating from 1991, building on commercial relations dating back to 1967.
Duty free
Having embarked on a significant amount of international air travel over many years I am always amazed at the lack of Madeira wines on sale at Duty Free retail outlets. I can attest that Madeira wine is not available in some of the world’s busiest airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester Copenhagen, Dubai, Singapore, Vancouver, Toronto and Brisbane in 2025. I have only ever seen a large and comprehensive range of Madeira wines at Funchal airport.
The ultimate conundrum
Visitor numbers to Madeira are growing strongly from Germany (the largest market with 15.9% share), France (with a 9.2% share) and the UK (with a 12.7% share). However, consumption of Madeira wine is declining quite rapidly in these markets. Clearly visitors are not taking to purchasing Madeira wine when home. I would argue this is partially due to a lack of Madeira wine availability and accessibility in these markets that replicates the experience of drinking Madeira wine in Madeira.
More worryingly, even as tourist numbers rise, an extrapolation exercise against growth in consumption of Madeira wines by tourists shows an actual decline per head. Tourists are purchasing less Madeira wine when visiting the island. Growth is entirely dependant upon more tourists arriving.
In summary
The global appeal of Madeira wine is real; the island of Madeira is experiencing many more visitors and gives the wine industry a strong platform to develop new Madeira wine drinkers. The construction by Justino’s of a new Madeira wine visitor centre in Funchal is an exciting development. However, more must be done to attract visitors to try Madeira wine when on the island and to then continue to enjoy Madeira wine when at home.
[1] Oceans of Wine, p117 Figure 4.3 Hancock. David: Yale University 2009
[2] IVBAM Commercialisation of Madeira Wine by Market – 2015 to 2024
[5] PowerPoint Presentation The Battle of Generations in the UK
[6] Madeira Wine Market Size, Share & 2034 Growth Trends Report
[7] Madeira Wine Market Research Report 2033
[8] The Chinese Wine Market in 2026: Trends and Consumption – VVR International, développement stratégique, production, sourcing, distribution…
[9] China Wine Industry Statistics: Market Data Report 2026
[10] Madeira Wine Market Size, Share, Trends & Industry Forecast [2034]
[11] Madeira Wine sales grow in volume, but turnover falls — DNOTICIAS.PT